Munising

Thomas L. Fulcher, age 78, of Munising, died under the loving care of his family and North Woods Hospice on Friday afternoon, August 5, 2022.  He was born on January 28, 1944, in Muskegon, Michigan to Trueman and Mary (Chartier) Fulcher.  The Fulcher family returned to their hometown in Munising when Tom was young.  He graduated from Sacred Heart School and then Wm. G. Mather High School in 1962.  Tom married his high school sweetheart, Mary Kaye LaCombe, on December 28, 1963.  Together, they lovingly raised their family.  Tom graduated from Kenosha Wisconsin Technical School as a welder.  His young family moved to Gladstone and Tom worked for Harnishfeger as a welder.  In 1971, he moved his family back to Munising and Tom went to work for Hiawatha Telephone Company as a lineman.  He retired in 2003.  Tom was a faithful and active member of Sacred Heart Church.  He and his family were active in the Cursillo movement.  Tom also had devotion to the Blessed Mother and praying the rosary daily.  He enjoyed his time as a prison minister for over ten years where he shared his faith with inmates.  Tom loved hunting, fishing, vegetable gardening, and woodworking.  He was a “jack of all trades” and could help with electrical work, plumbing, and carpentry when he was needed.  Two highlights in Tom’s life were trips he took to Alaska, one with his grandson, P.J., and one with his good friend, Harold Cousineau. While in Alaska Tom entered into a yearlong fishing tournament in Valdez where he landed a 249.3 pound halibut that was the largest fish caught that year.  Tom Fulcher was a good man….well done good and faithful servant.

He is survived by his loving wife of over fifty-eight years – Mary Kaye Fulcher of Munising; their daughters – Karin (Pete) Perry of Munising, Terri (Alan) Davis of Greenwood, SC, and Jody (Bill Salvinski) Riley of Oshkosh, WI; six grandchildren – Peter John “P.J.” Perry, Brandon Riley, Neil Perry, Nicole Davis, Troy Riley, and Paige Davis; great-grandchildren – Ethan, Kayleigh, Owen, Eilyn, Hailey, Will, Eliza, Sophia, and Arabella; his twin brother – Theodore “Ted” (Barb) Fulcher; brother – Ken Fulcher; sisters – Linda (Bob) Grooms and Mary (Dennis) Chenail; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law – Nancy Fulcher, Lou Luebcke, Sue Fulcher, Kim Fulcher, Diane (John) Popp, Lorraine (Rick) Runsat, Harold Anderson, Dan (Phyllis) LaCombe, and Celeste (Rob) Wiitanen; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and many wonderful lifelong friends.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, infant son Thomas Daniel Fulcher on September 19, 1970, and siblings – Ron Fulcher, Geraldine Bebo, Raymond Fulcher, Richard Fulcher, Annette Luebke, and Robert Fulcher; parents-in-law – Arnold “Speck” and Henrietta LaCombe; in-laws – Susie Anderson, Tom (Darlene) LaCombe, Dave (Jean Ann) LaCombe, and Larry (Helen) Ulrich. 

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, August 13, 2022, at Sacred Heart Church at 10:00 a.m.  Interment will be at Maple Grove Cemetery followed by a fellowship gathering at LaMothe Hall.

Tom’s family would like to thank the caring nurses and aides at North Woods Home Health and Hospice for the care they have provided as well as the staff at Bowerman Funeral Home.