Thomas "Tom" Lester Sanford 1918 - 2018

SANFORD, DEVINE, STEINBACH

Posted By: Connie Swearingen- Volunteer (email)
Date: 10/28/2018 at 18:08:34

Sioux City Journal
1 June 2018

Tom L. Sanford, 99, of Mapleton, passed away Tuesday, May 29, 2018, at Burgess Health Center in Onawa, Iowa.

Services will be 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Mapleton. The Rev. Richard D. Ball will officiate. Burial will be in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, with military rites conducted by the American Legion Loren Hollister Post 496 of Mapleton. Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. today, with a rosary at 5 p.m. and a vigil service at 7 p.m., at Armstrong-Van Houten Funeral Home in Mapleton.

Thomas "Tom" Lester Sanford, the son of Dennis and Rose (Devine) Sanford, was born on June 24, 1918, in rural Mapleton. Tom was raised in Mapleton and graduated from Mapleton High School with the class of 1937. After graduation, Tom began working as a farm hand.

In 1940, Tom met the love of his life, Elsie Steinbach, in Danbury, Iowa, when they went on a drive in his 1931 model A coupe. In the words of Tom, "I asked her if she wanted to go for a drive, she said yes and she got in and never got out." In 1941, Tom was drafted into the U.S. Army in Fort Crook, Neb. Prior to his deployment overseas, he proposed to Elsie and the couple was united in marriage on Jan. 15, 1944 in Harrisburg, Pa. On Aug. 22, 1945, Tom was honorably discharged from the service and returned home to Mapleton to be with his wife. The couple was blessed with five children, Jerry, Larry, Thomas, Robert and Alice.

Left to cherish his memory are his children, Jerry (Rosie) Sanford of Sioux City, Larry (Tammy) Sanford of Bronson, Iowa; son-in-law, Larry Kluver of MapletonA; daughters-in-law, Sharon L. Sanford of Las Vegas, Nev., Sharon R. Sanford of Sioux City, and Ruth Hintz of Boise, Idaho; 18 grandchildren; 47 great-grandchildren; 10 great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.

Tom was preceded in death by his loving wife of 74 years, Elsie in January 2018; his parents, Dennis and Rose Sanford; sons, Robert Sanford and Thomas Sanford; daughter, Alice Kluver; granddaughter, Michelle Lara; four brothers; and one sister.

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