Thomas Frank Bubin

Thomas F. Bubin, age 90, of Portage, MI departed this life Tuesday, August 6, 2013 in Portage. He was born September 2, 1922 in Flint, MI, the son of Frank T. and Catherine (Marzonie) Bubin. Tom graduated from Flint Northern High School in 1940 and attended Flint Junior College where he lettered in basketball and baseball before entering the US Army in 1942. Tom was a combat veteran of the famed 10th Armored "Ghost" Division in the 3rd Army, commanded by Gen. George Patton. In addition to three ETO Battle Stars, he was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery and two Purple Hearts. After WW II, he met and married Deloris Zada Walther in 1947 and they moved to Kalamazoo where Tom resumed his college studies, graduating in 1949 from Western Michigan College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the newly established School of Business Administration. After graduation, he became employed in advertising and public relations with the Shakespeare Company. When they moved headquarters to Columbia, SC, Tom decided to stay in Kalamazoo and started Tom Bubin & Associates Advertising and Public Relations, later to become BBG&W (Bubin, Begg, Brewer, and Williams). He retired from the agency, then served as sales and marketing consultant for Kalamazoo Label Company and then, Safety Services. He was active in many organizations, including the Shakespeare Employee Association, serving as its first president; the Kalamazoo Junior Chamber of Commerce; the Outdoor Writer Association of America; president of the Kalamazoo Valley Club of Printing House Craftsmen; served on the first board of the St. Agnes Foundling Home; he organized and served as the first president of the St. Augustine School Board; he was a 50-year member of the YMCA; a member of the Kalamazoo Elks Lodge; Knights of Columbus 3rd and 4th Degrees, and served many years as a member and national president of his beloved 10th Armored Division Veterans Association. Tom is survived by his wife of 66 years, Deloris Bubin; their five children: Bethany Ann Lindsay, Thomas Eric (PJ Canonie) Bubin, Polly (Jeff) Hollenbeck, Bruce (Wendy Maxwell) Bubin, and Rebecca (Dan) Branch; grandchildren Sarah Frink, Jennifer Theisen, Emily Hetland, and Meghan Lindsay; Christian and Zada Harris; Robert, Bennett, and Grace Bubin; and Kyle and Kieran Shawhan; great-grandchildren Thomas and Catie Frink; siblings Dorothy (Ronald) Russell of Flagler Beach, Fl; Fran (Virginia) Bubin of Flushing, MI; Cathy Snyder of Flint, MI, and Joni (Wayne) Hatch of Murphy, NC; and several nieces and nephews. Friends will be received Sunday, August 11, 2013 from 3-5PM at Redmond Funeral Home, 4100 S. Westnedge, Kalamazoo (269) 343-6156. Mass of Christian Burial will take place Monday, August 12 at 11AM at St. Monica Catholic Church, 534 W. Kilgore, Kalamazoo, Fr. Robert Consani celebrant. Interment with full military honors will follow at Ft. Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, MI. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 55575, or the Congregation of St. Joseph, PO Box 29, Nazareth, MI 49074. www.redmondfuneralhomes.net