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‘Venison Man’ dead at 77
It has been noted that the green Tom Cullimore bled was not MSU green, but “John Deere green.”
The man truly loved his tractors. He also loved his farm in Williamston. So the resting place his wife, Karin, has in mind for him is only fitting.
She told me Friday, she will hold onto his ashes until the coronavirus loosens its grip on us. Then she’ll host a celebration of Tom’s life at the farm. During that party Tom’s remains will be plowed into one of his fields by members of the local tractor club over which Tom presided as president for 24 years.
He will literally become part of the farm that was such an important part of him.
Cullimore died earlier this week at age 77 of Alzheimers. I knew him through H.O.P.E. (Help Other People Eat), a project he founded to help feed the local hungry. He encouraged hunters to donate venison, which he picked up at area meat processors, then delivered to local food banks and soup kitchens.
As a Lansing State Journal columnist, I gave the eminently quotable Cullimore and H.O.P.E. lots of publicity because it was the kind of charity closest to my heart: It was local and it was direct, Not a dime’s worth of donations went to pay administrators, or buy office furniture. It all went toward delivering hard-to-come-by protein to those who needed it.
In fact, Tom often gassed up his delivery truck out of his own pocket.
After I left full-time employment eight years ago, I frequently rode shotgun with Tom, retrieving as much as 1,000 pounds of processed meat in a single day, then distributing it those who fed the needy. They were invariably grateful. The folks at least one of the food banks he served called Cullimore “St. Thomas.”
A few years ago CWD (chronic wasting disease) in Michigan’s deer herd, along with Cullimore’s fading health, put an end to H.O.P.E., but not before Cullimore had delivered more than a half-million servings of venison to local families.
(The photo shows Cullimore being interviewed by a TV reporter about H.O.P.E.)
