Thomas Worford Jr

***In lieu of flowers the family has requested to please make monetary donations to 100 Black Men of Greater Detroit or ALS of Michigan.*** Thomas Edward Worford Jr was born on July 23rd, 1949 to Thomas Worford Sr and Golden Thursby in Kansas City, MO and passed away at home in Canton, MI on Thursday June 13, 2019 at the age of 69. Thomas grew up in Kansas City as the oldest and the only boy in the Worford family of five. Early on he became a servant of God through Friendship Baptist Church before continuing his faith at Hartford Memorial Baptist church upon relocation to Michigan in 1984. At Hartford, he participated in Senator Jackie Vaughn Contemporary Issues Sunday School as co-chair and Men's Tuesday Bible Study. Always wanting to learn more and give back, he joined Boy Scouts of America, where he eventually reached eagle status. He attended Central Missouri College before pursuing his dream in architectural engineering. At the age of 18, while still attending college, Thomas became employed by Butler Manufacturing and used that bridge to begin at Garrison Construction Company in Detroit. Under Garrison he partnered with them to begin his own construction company called Engineered Buildings Inc. (EBI). In 1988, he was able to buy out their shares of the company and be the sole owner and President of EBI. With this acquisition, He became the first African American Owner/ Builder with Butler Manufacturing. As the President and owner of EBI, he won many accolades including High Performance Builder(20 times), Self Storage Builder of the Year, Butler Million Dollar Club, and the Butler Builder of the year award earned only by the top 10% of the builders worldwide. Thomas gave as much of his personal and professional life as he did towards his philanthropic life. As a current board member and former President of 100 Black Men of Detroit, Thomas has led young black men in the city to pursue lives that push their potential towards greater achievements. Even with his physical strength deteriorating, his mental and emotional strength for the community continued to be felt by all culminating in the first ever Thomas Worford "Its All About the Kids" Award presented to him on January 22nd, 2018. In continuation of his quest of being "All About the Kids" Thomas was a past District West Chairman of Detroit Area Council of Boy Scouts of America; Junior achievement in school facilitator; Merrill Lynch Detroit External Advisory Board member. Youth mentor for 100 Black Men Sports Buddies program with Big Brother Big Sisters; and was the Mentoring Chairman for the greater Detroit chapter of 100 Black Men. Thomas was a very active sports enthusiast who traveled the world to cheer on those he enjoyed. Before his illness, he last traveled to see his childhood hometown Kansas City Chiefs play his current hometown team the Detroit Lions in London. Closer to home, he assisted in coaching his daughter's soccer and tennis teams, and help lead them to several championships. Once he hung up his whistle, he took to playing tennis on a weekly basis with his neighborhood family. In his free time, Thomas could be found attending Lions games with his sons and grandsons; Pistons games with his "brothers"; or attending Wings and Wolverines games with his daughter. Never wanting to be limited by his sources of knowledge, Thomas embraced world travel. Whether he left with friends or his family, there was no location that he did not want to go to. He went back to his roots by visiting Mother Africa, swam with dolphins in Hawaii, and dogsled in Alaska. He was fortunate enough to make his final trip be that to the Holy Land in November 2017. With fellow spiritualist and his wife, he was reaffirmed in the River Jordan and bathed in the Dead Sea. This final trip was the beginning of his homecoming. Thomas is survived by his loving wife Caroyln of 35 years. They were married in Kansas City, MO in January of 1984, a few years after reuniting at their 10th High School reunion from Lincoln High School. Thomas joins his father Thomas Sr, mother Golden, and sister Carolyn. He leaves behind his sisters Patricia Thomas and Brenda Worford; daughter Ashleigh Worford; son Roger Haney(Marcia); 3 grandsons Roger Charles Haney III, Dominique Robinson, and Denzel Haney; five great grandchildren Zyrem, Joseph, Roger IV, Braylon and Nefertiti; host of extended family and friends. The Family would like to recognize his legacy left behind in 100 Black Men Of Greater Detroit and Big Brother Big Sister mentees, including Donquise Ealy and Moses Hubbert. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:14

Thomas Worford Jr

July 23, 1949 - June 13, 2019