Thomas E. Murch

Thomas E. Murch, age 74, of Kalamazoo passed away December 2, 2020. Tom was born December 31, 1945 in Kalamazoo, to the late Andrew and Grace (Hutchins) Murch, and grew up in Paw Paw. Tom was a graduate of Carlton College and earned his MBA at the University of Michigan. In 1978, Tom founded The Country Market, a specialty meat and cheese shop, which grew into T.E. Murch's Bakery and Café with eight locations throughout Southwest, MI. Murch’s served fresh, from-scratch baked goods, sandwiches, salads and soups for over 25 years. Tom was a kind, giving person who worked to make a personal connection with everyone he met and was a mentor to many. He had a keen and mischievous sense of humor and loved to debate current events. He was an avid outdoorsman and fisherman, excellent chef and had an uncanny ability to fix almost anything. Tom’s favorite place was the family cottage in Ontario, Canada where he sought out remote trout streams and enjoyed listening to the loons call across the lake. He was a beloved husband, father and Baba/Papa Tom. Tom is survived by his wife, Dee Ann (Van Ooy) Murch, and his four children: Amy (Zig) Kennedy, Mindy (Glenn) Gomes Casseres, Lisa (Chris) Murch, Matt (Ursula) Murch; 8 grandchildren; 3 sisters -- Nancy Carrington, Mary McClean and Judy (Chuck) Darby; and many nieces and nephews. He was proceeded in death by his brother, John Murch. Due to current health risks, in-person services will not be held. Instead, we will hold a virtual service on Saturday, December 12 at 11am. If you would like to participate, please send an email to MurchMemorial@gmail.com. We invite family and friends to share a short video with memories that celebrate Tom by Tuesday, December 8 through VidHug (https://app.vidhug.com/celebrating-tom-murch/rkRu0zuiD/record). Videos will be shared with his family and may be incorporated into the service. In lieu of flowers, a Memorial Gift may be made in Tom’s memory to The Nature Conservancy.