Thomas Guessford

Thomas Guessford, 45, passed away Sunday, December 20, 2009, surrounded by his loving family. Funeral services will be at 10:00 am Monday, December 28th at Cornerstone Family Church (3114 SW 61st Street in Des Moines) with burial following at Sunset Memorial Gardens. A visitation will be held from 2:00-5:00 pm Sunday at Hamilton’s Southtown Funeral Home.

Tom’s pride and joy was his family. Many of his activities involved his wife and children, and they enjoyed many wonderful experiences together. Tom met his soul mate Janice while working at J&H/KVI. They have been together for 20 years, and their love and commitment to each other has been a true inspiration to many. Tom was extremely proud of his two boys, and he enjoyed participating in all their events. He was actively involved in coaching his boys’ baseball, basketball, and football teams. Tom also enjoyed golfing with Michael and coaching Matthew’s baseball games. He taught the fundamentals and shared a love of the game that will always remain with the young athletes he worked with. Tom’s passion for life will shine through forever.

Tom was born April 28, 1964, in Des Moines. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1982, then attended Iowa State University and graduated with a degree in Political Science (‘86). Tom went on earn his MBA from Drake University in Business Administration (’97). He worked at Marsh Inc. (formerly J&H/KVI) from 1987 until the time of his passing where he was the Managing Director of Operations, leader of Marsh U.S. Consumer Operations. Tom was the ultimate motivator and worked with his team to get the best possible results. This leadership earned his team the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates Award for Customer Excellence in 2007 and 2008. Tom was a consummate professional and driven in all areas of his life, but he led with a human touch and was a mentor to all who came in contact with him. He took a personal interest in his staff and knew the importance of balancing work and family. Tom always acted with the utmost integrity and valued doing the right thing, even when that was hard to do.

Tom had many hobbies. He was an avid golfer and enjoyed his annual golf trips to Phoenix. He took great pride in having golfed some of the finest courses in America including Pebble Beach, Pinehurst, and Augusta National. He was a true supporter of Iowa State and enjoyed spending time with family and friends at Cyclone football games. Tom was a very accomplished softball player and led his teams to many State and National tournaments. He was a board member of the South Suburban YMCA and the top pledge earner for the Partner with Youth Campaign for two years in a row. He was a member of the Norwalk United Methodist Church. Tom was very active in his community and served on several different boards.

He is survived by his loving wife Janice Guessford; sons Michael and Matthew; parents David and Priscilla Guessford; brothers Todd Guessford and Tim Guessford (Jennifer Nordstrom); father-in-law Ray Quijano; sisters-in-law Linda McFall and Mona (Rob) Anderson; brother-in-law John Quijano; nieces Alexa Guessford, Rachel and Molly Guessford, Joni (Bobby) Shepherd and Paige Quijano; nephews Nick McFall and Ryan (Kate) Anderson; great nephews Bobby and Billy Shepherd; and many close friends.

Memorial contributions may be made to his family and will be donated to his favorite charities in loving memory of Tom.

www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

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