Thomas Stanley Telford

Thomas Stanley Telford, 88, was born March 20th, 1937, to John Robert Telford and Pauline (Sager) Telford in Salem, Illinois. He passed into Heaven on February 28th, 2026.

Tom married Mikell Kathryn Charlton on July 27th, 1956. They were married for 61 years.

They were parents to four children: Amy (Archie) Garces, Joe (Lisa) Telford, William Telford, and Todd Telford. Honorary daughter: Shaina (Eric) Hocking. Tom leaves behind 7 grandchildren: Alison (Bryan) McKinney, Andrew Garces, Dr. Anne (Ryan) LaPorte, Jay (Erin) Telford, and Sam (Jessica) Telford. Honorary granddaughters: Satie Bre Stevenson and Karley Squibb and nine great-grandchildren: Kathryn, Thomas, Paul, Violet, Brice, Anna, Jolie, Jemma, and Jacey. Tom's grand and great grandchildren were his pride and joy.

Our dad was an unusual father. In our family, we don't tell people how we grew up because they don't believe us. People look doubtful when you talk about luring an escaped bear back to his cage with ice cream. They don't believe he'd haul us into the car in the middle of a storm to search for a tornado. They wonder when we tell them about driving through the McDonald's drive thru to get a bear cub an ice cream cone. So, we just smile and say our dad was a farmer. Dad was a farmer all his life, but his real love was hunting. It didn't matter where, it didn't matter what, he loved to hunt. He was the best friend a man could have. He loved spending time joking with his buddies. He loved Illini Basketball. He loved his life. This is pretty close to God's recipe for Tom Telford: 1 part determination, 1 part strength, 1 part friendship, 8 parts Sheer Ornery-ness. We loved him. We will miss him.

A funeral service will be held at 12:00pm Thursday March 5th, 2026, at Young's Chapel Christian Church in Salem, with Steve Bratton officiating. A time of visitation will be held from 10:00 am until the time of the service at the Church. A private family burial will be held at East Lawn Cemetery in Salem. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Young's Chapel Christian Church and will be accepted at the visitation or at Sutherland-Rankin Funeral Home, PO Box 97, Salem, Illinois 62881. Online condolences may be left at www.sutherlandfuneralhome.com or Sutherland-Rankin Funeral Home Facebook page.