Thomas P.  Rainey

Rainey, Thomas P. Mr. Thomas Rainey of Grandville passed away at Spectrum Health Heart Center in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 after suffering a stroke.  Tom was born on March 2, 1925 in Vicksburg, MS to Oscar “Frank” and Callie Rainey.  He had one brother, Maurice, who was two years younger.  Tom spent his childhood in Vicksburg attending grammar school there and he attended St. Mary’s Catholic High School where he played football.  At the age of 16, Tom and Maurice (age 14) lost their parents at a young age.  Together they decided California was where they were going.  So they set off, Tom and his younger brother, hitchhiking across the state and landed in Los Angeles, CA.  There, they sought out a new church home.  The priest there introduced them to the MacCarthy family who graciously took in the two orphaned young men.  They stayed with the MacCarthy family until that family had to move, then Tom and Maurice met the Kappel family.  The Kappel family embraced the boys and welcomed them into their home as their own, like a family should be.  Tom graduated high school from a school in Los Angeles, we are not sure of the year.  While Maurice joined the military, Tom was not able to due to an injury to his ear from playing football.  Instead, he served his country with pride by working at a defense plant during WWII.  Always having a passion for education, Tom attended Los Angeles City College earning his AA Degree in business.  Tom obtained many miscellaneous jobs as a young man.  His first true success was a salesman with a safe making company called Louis Safe.  Eventually Tom moved on to 3M as a salesman.  Tom was very proud of the team he built, as they were awarded multiple all-expense paid trips around the world for their productivity.  When Tom decided to venture out on his own and nurture the entrepreneur growing inside, he left 3M and bought a small company out of Toledo, OH selling advertisement for bus benches.  Many are still in Michigan today.  Shortly thereafter, he acquired a company called Lockridge Outdoors, a billboard company in Indiana.  After some thought, it made sense to combine the two companies under one name, PERMA and remain located in Indiana.  Tom’s perseverance didn’t stop there; he continued to build his empire by offering many new things not billboard related.  Welcome the birth of PERMA Advertising and CC Graphics.  The company is very strong today, mostly in part to Toms’ love of the business, constant education and the quality employees he surrounded himself with.  A true recipe for success.  Even as Tom grew older and didn’t live in Indiana, he continued to run his business, never slowing down.  Light heartedly, we have to recognize that Tom, at 89 years, finally decided to retire on October 8, 2014.  On July 28, 1951, Tom married his first wife, Virginia Rose Czerkies in Los Angeles.  They later relocated to Holland, MI as this was her birthplace.  They enjoyed a long and happy marriage together until Tom lost his first love to a heart attack.  We can all thank Ginger for introducing Tom to Michigan.  In his grief over losing Ginger, he went back to California for 6 months to stay with Maurice and his wife, Yvonne.   Upon returning to Michigan, Tom met Nellie Jean Tudor at a social dance.  They were crazy for each other. Both widowed, they danced their way through their romance and married on September 10, 1994.   Tom (not having any children with Ginger) had an instant family, complete with step-daughters and step-grandchildren.  The title of “step” soon left the room as everyone fell in love with Tom and his giant heart!  He returned the love and became just dad and grandpa and shortly thereafter, great grandpa. Tom’s grandchildren were a complete joy to him.  He loved spending time with them whether at a family dinner, where he never missed a chance to ask about their future plans for education and giving advice on how to achieve it, or taking the whole crew shopping at the mall then out to dinner.  He just couldn’t get enough of them.  Tom and Jean continued to dance their way through life.  Nurturing each other, continuing to grow Perma Advertising and CC Graphics, enjoying their family and the new great grandbabies that continued to come.  They loved going to dances, meeting with friends and of course, they were a regular presence at the Grandville mall staying fit.  Tom is preceded in death by his parents, Oscar “Frank” and Callie Rainey; his first wife, Ginger Rainey; his son-in-law, Bob Adkison; his sister-in-law, Yvonne Rainey.  Tom is survived by his loving wife of 20 years, Jean Rainey; daughters, Penny (Mark) Brighton, Cheryl Adkison; brother, Maurice Rainey; grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.  Funeral services will be held on Monday 11 am at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 3937 Wilson Ave. SW, Grandville.  Interment Pilgrim Home Cemetery in Holland.  Relatives and friends may meet the family Monday from 10-11 am at the church prior to the service.  In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make memorial contributions to the American Cancer Society or St. Pius X Catholic Church.