Thomas Tutt
MATTOON – Thomas Wright Tutt, 81, of Mattoon died at 8:15 p.m. Friday
(Nov. 4, 2011) at home surrounded by his family and friends.
Mitchell-Jerdan Funeral Home, 1200 Wabash Ave., Mattoon, will host
services honoring and celebrating his life at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9,
with the Rev. Ken Hutchens officiating. Following the services,
entombment will be at Mound Cemetery, Charleston. Masonic Services will
be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the funeral home. Visitation
for the public will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral
home. Memorials can be made to the Shriner's Hospital for Children.
Mr. Tutt was born Feb. 21, 1930, in Seven Hickory Township of
Charleston, a son of Robert Bruce and Stella May Swango Tutt. He married
Jane Elizabeth Hall of Paris, Ill., on May 30, 1951, in Corinth, Miss.
She survives.
Surviving family members include his four children, Timothy Tutt of
Mattoon and fiancee Anita Daubs of Lerna, Tyler Tutt of Mattoon, Tamyre
Diamond and husband Mark of Portland, Ore., and Paul and Chrissy
McKillip of Mattoon; five grandchildren, Joseph Tutt, on duty with the
U.S. Marine Corps, Jessica Tutt of Mattoon, Moorea and Breea Diamond of
Portland, Ore., and Kyle Daubs of Lerna; two sisters, Thelma Bartimus
and husband Chuck of Mattoon and Juanita Woods and husband Leon of
Phoenix, Ariz.; and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Tutt was preceded in death by his
sister, Roberta Gibbons and husband Jim; and one infant sibling.
Mr. Tutt grew up in Charleston, where he was a member of the Class of
1947. While in high school, Tom bought a delivery truck and spent much
of his time hauling items for many people. His first job was working for
Bob Ruple at the Feed & Grain in Charleston. Soon after, Tom moved
to Kentucky to haul coal and iron, then returned to Charleston.
He then hauled prefab homes from Mississippi to Illinois. Mr. Tutt
then met the love of his life, Jane Elizabeth Hall. They eloped to
Corinth, Miss., in 1951, and set up their home in Effingham shortly
after.
Later, Tom worked for Effingham Poultry and Egg, where he would take
eggs and deliver chickens. Many times he took a load of chickens to the
stockyards in Chicago.
Mr. Tutt moved to Mattoon in 1955 and worked for A & B Transfer
Trucking, where he met many of his lifelong friends. He worked for Bowen
Transport before starting Mattoon Excavating with Henry Hall. They
later bought Service Equipment in Mattoon, the local Case Franchise.
Later, they formed Service Disposal. A decade later, they formed Service
Equipment Transport with Billy Hall. The proudest business
accomplishment Thomas had was the hundreds of people he had brought
together and who have remained business associates and close friends
because of him and their relationship with Service Equipment Co.
In a newspaper article as Mr. Tutt approached age 70, and after 30
years in business, Tom Tutt figured it was time for someone else to be
in charge. "I'm getting old enough, this needs to go over to somebody
younger," Mr. Tutt was quoted as he decided to pass the torch. Birkey's
Construction Equipment Co., a division of Birkey's Farm Store Inc.,
purchased the business with responsibility for the Case Corp. equipment.
Mr. Tutt was a Master Mason and lifetime member of Lodge 260 in
Mattoon; a 32nd Degree Mason and lifetime member of the Danville
Consistory in Danville; a lifetime member of the First United Methodist
Church in Mattoon; a member of the board of directors of the former
Mattoon Bank; a lifetime member of the Ansar Temple in Springfield; past
director and major fundraiser of the Corn Belt Shriner's Club and one
of the founding members of the Corn Belt's Shriner's Cycle Patrol.
Please visit
www.mitchell-jerdan.com to light a virtual candle or share a memory with the family.
