Thomas J. Fulscher , beloved brother, uncle, and friend passed away peacefully on January 11, 2025, at the age of 84.  Born on July 4, 1940, Tom was always very proud to share his birthday with our country on Independence Day.

Tom was born in Rock Island, IL , the son of George and Rose Ellen Fulscher (Lawlor) and grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River.  Tom was the oldest of the six Fulscher children, and as the oldest, he took on many household responsibilities to assist the family after his father passed away in 1955.  Tom was the beloved brother of Mary (Dean) Ash of Moline, IL, Barbara (Will) Ridenour of Champaign, IL, and Betty Vitale (Jim Naso) of St. Charles, IL.  He was preceded in death by his parents, niece Rebecca Fulscher, nephew Daniel Ash, sister Joyce (Hec) Carlson, brother George and sister-in-law Toni Fulscher.  He was the proud uncle of 4 nieces and 9 nephews and many great and great-great nieces and nephews.  Tom's greatest joy in life was his family.

After high school, Tom attended the American Institute of Commerce and began his career as a stockbroker.  However, he was called into the military and joined the US Air Force, proudly serving our country from 1965 through 1968.  He was stationed in Texas, Alaska, North Carolina, Japan, and Korea.  After the service, Tom resumed his career in the brokerage business, working for Wayne Hummer Investments (later Wintrust) in Chicago for over 50 years.  Tom loved helping his clients and they didn't want him to retire, but he finally decided to hang up his "Gone Fishing" sign in 2019 at age 78.  He always enjoyed being near the Mississippi, so once he retired, he got to finally spend more time back in his hometown of Hampton, IL on the river.  Tom was also a self-taught carpenter, electrician, plumber, and auto mechanic.  He was very mechanically inclined.  He enjoyed working on house projects and on cars and was always willing to lend someone a hand.  He will be missed.

Visitation will be 12:30pm to 2:30pm Saturday, April 5th, at Van Hoe Funeral Home, East Moline, with a Memorial service following at 2:30pm. Interment will be at Hampton Cemetery, Hampton, IL.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer's Association or the charity of your choice in Tom's name would be appreciated.

Online condolences may be left for the family at vanhoe.com