James M. Rutherford of Fargo, ND, finished the race September 9, 2011 at the age of 89. He passed peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family, after a year-long battle with cancer.

Jim was born on September 6, 1922, in Grafton, ND to Johannah and John Rutherford, the tenth of eleven children. He was raised on the family farm in Nash, ND. He married Gladys Gilleshammer of Grafton, ND on November 9, 1946. They farmed in the Grafton area until 1950, when they bought a farm and moved east of Hillsboro, ND.

Besides being known as an outstanding farmer, Jim was also appreciated for his integrity, keen wit, 'crooked smile' and tender heart. His work ethic, honesty and faith leave a legacy to be remembered. Jim liked to sing, play the organ, and golf, but family and friends were his joy.

Jim is survived by his five children; Gary (JoAnn) Rutherford, Glendale, AZ; Diane (Jim) Weaver, Billings, MT; Pamela (Jim) Wiedmann, Glendale, AZ; Peggy Rutherford, Minneapolis, MN; and Charles (Susan) Rutherford, Minneapolis, MN; 14 grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren; and his two sisters, Gladys Brosseau, Grand Forks, ND and Clarice Astrup, Fargo, ND.

He was preceded in death by his wife Gladys, four brothers and four sisters.

In lieu of flowers, memorials will be distributed by the family.

Funeral Service: Friday, September 16, 2011, at 2:00 at Liberty Lutheran Brethren Church, 1702 32nd Avenue South, Fargo.

Visitation: Thursday, September 15, 2011 from 6:00-8:00PM with a Tribute Service at 7:00 at Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, 215 South, Fargo. Personal reflections are welcome.

Interment: Following funeral reception at Riverside Cemetery, Fargo.

Marvin James Rutherford ("Jim") was born September 6, 1922, attended by a midwife, Mrs. Culingsrud from Park River. He was born on his parent's farm in Walsh County near Grafton, North Dakota, and baptized at North Trinity Lutheran Church near Hoople, North Dakota. His parents were Hannah (Dahl) and John N. Rutherford, and he was the youngest son of eleven children. Hannah was the first white girl born in Walsh County. Her parents had immigrated from Norway. John, who was better known as "Jack", had come to North Dakota with his parents from South Monaghan township in Northumberland County, Ontario.
Jim grew up on the farm his paternal grandparents homesteaded in 1888. He
attended Rural School District #51. School began at 9:00 am and closed at 4:I'm with
a half- hour lunch recess and 15 minute recesses in both the morning and afternoon.
The school Jim attended was a white one-room schoolhouse and all eight elementary
grades were taught there. There were rows of various sized desks with a coal-burning stove in one corner. The teacher was her own janitor and received a salary of about $60.00 per month. Sometimes she would board at the homes of the students.
Jim was the youngest son and he always thought of his brothers as his "big brothers" for they were not only big in size, but they were also quite a bit older. Kenny was the closest in age to him, and he was five years older. Nick was 11 years older, Joe, 15 years older, and Deb was 17 years older. Some of Jim's memories from the farm include Joe holding him up by his feet over a manure pile!! He often played with his younger sisters, Clarice and Gladys, because they were closer to his age. Gladys (Brosseau) said, "He was such a cute little boy, and so obedient all the time. He used to sleep upstairs on the sleeping porch, three to a bed with his brothers, and before he went up, he would always kiss Mom and Dad and say, "Good night mother---Good night father."
As a boy, Jim's chores around the house were picking eggs and milking the cows. Winter grocery money came from the sale of the cream from the cows and the eggs. When he was a little older he helped his Dad and older brothers with the field work. There was a party-line telephone in the house, and Jim remembered that you could "rubber- neck", or listen in on someone else's call, and when the phone rang four times, that was the signal that the call was for the Rutherford family. He remembered one of his favorite gifts as a child was a little red wagon that his older cousin, "Miff" gave him.
One of the most difficult periods in Jim's life, and for his whole family, was when his brother Nick was killed and then just four months later, his sister Harriet died. Nick, his brother Kenny and a school friend, Joe Cernick, had
gone to Velva, North Dakota with an old truck full of potatoes. It was during the Depression in December 1934. In Velva they sold the potatoes and bought lignite coal for the family's furnace. They were headed back home December 21, driving through the night in order to get back as soon as possible. All three were in the truck's cab and were on unfamiliar road, going down a hill, and not knowing it curved at the bottom. As the truck went off the road, it overturned, throwing Kenny clear, but pinning both Nick and Joe under the heavy lignite. Kenny rushed to try to
save his brother and friend, but could not free either. Trying to help Nick, he heard his brother say, "No---help Joe!" As Kenny vainly attempted to free Joe, he heard Joe say, "No---help Nick!" Kenny ran to the nearest house, getting there at 6:00 am. But by the time the rescue party returned to the truck, both men had died. Nick was just 23 years old.
Of course everyone in the family was deeply affected by this calamity. Nick had always been so good to Jim, and as a young boy, he couldn't understand how such a kind person as Nick could be killed as he was. The local papers carried the news of the tragedy, using the quote from the Bible, "Greater love has no man then this----that a man lay down his life for his friend."
Only four months later, the family again received tragic news. At this time, Harriet and Alfreda ("Babe") were in Chicago. Delbert ("Deb") was working there as a streetcar conductor, and the sisters had gone there to work at the World's Fair. Harriet had gone in to have some routine surgery done on her foot on April 28, 1935. She apparently was given an overdose of ether, and died on the operating table while Babe waited outside. Harriet was only 24 years old. Her body was shipped back to the farmhouse where the funeral was held. These two events, occurring so close together, left a lasting scar in the hearts of all the family members.
Once in a while, Jim's father, Jack, took him to the western movies in town, but entertainment was scarce. The family often sang together, played croquet on the lawn, or horseshoes. After Hannah and Jack began their church affiliation with the Convention Churchs of America, church meetings were held in member's homes close to the farm, and Jim attended regularly.
In 1936, at the age of 14, Jim earned extra money by ordering items from the Spores Wholesale catalog and selling them at 50% profit. He would take samples of ball point pens (which were a new item), pencils, Christmas cards,


and "Sew No More" overall patches, and with his father's car he went from farm to farm carrying a suitcase filled with samples and being a "traveling" salesman. Although when he got low on gas, he'd have to go back to the farm and fill up again before he could go further, so he said he wouldn't get too far from home!
Beginning in 1937 at 15 years of age, Jim began working in the potato warehouses in the Fall. From then on he worked steadily on the farm during the planting and harvest, or in the warehouses to earn money. Monday through Friday, he worked ten-hour days, handling 100 pound sack of potatoes. On Saturday, the workers were able to quit early at 3:00 PM and the employer would give his workers a beer as a reward for a good week. Jim would get a bottle of orange pop because he was too young!
Jim attended High School at Hoople for a time, but his primary responsibilities were on the farm where he learned from his father and his older brothers how to provide for his future family by becoming proficient at farming. His first tractor was a 1941 DC Case. After 1942, he rented from 40 to 80 acres of extra land to plant his own potato crop. With the extra money he made from his crop, he bought his first car, a 1937 Pontiac convertible. During this time, one of Jim's friends was Allen Gilleshammer. They used to sing together and go to dances. Jim was introduced to Gladys by her brother Allen, but she was gone most of the time--traveling around the country as a Naval recruiter during the War. Jim also had a brother, Kenny, whose welfare he worried about during the war. Kenny was on active duty in the Navy aboard a submarine, but he returned home safely after the War.
(See Gladys I. Gilleshammer's history from this point on)