Thomas Ewell Sanderford

Thomas Ewell Sanderford, Jr. passed away Saturday, December 09, 2017, after a battle with melanoma cancer. He was born November 12, 1944, in Temple, Texas and adopted by T.E. and Nellie Ruth Sanderford of Belton, Texas. He graduated from Belton High School in 1963 and attended Kemper Military School in Boonville, MO, and then Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas. While attending Kemper, he met the love of his life Janie Schlotzhauer. They married August 20, 1967, and lived in Belton where he worked on their ranch and as a reserve police office for Belton Police Department.

Tom ranched in the Belton area until the family moved to Colorado in 1995. He had hunted elk in the Vallecito area since he was a child and Tom loved that area so much; they found a home there. He had a deep love of the outdoors. He enjoyed playing billiards with friends and in leagues. He also developed a fascination with genealogy. Tom was a good Christian man who loved the Lord. He was a man of few words, but when he spoke, it was from the heart.

Tom is survived by his wife, Janie, and four daughters:  Tes Rodriguez and her husband Conrad of Rockwall, TX; Jennifer Dick, and her husband Daniel of Littleton, CO; Amy Knox, and her husband Jason of Holland, TX; and Sandi Wray, and her husband Jesse of Bayfield, CO. He was blessed with 11 grandchildren: Dakota, Kathleen, and Brenden Rodriguez; Caleb, Andrew, and Christopher Dick; Cooper and Tommie Knox; Alaina, Jonah, and Charlie Wray.  He is also survived by his sister Jane Potter, nieces Charlene Burk and Sarah Davison; three half-brothers, Kenneth Sellers, Robert Sellers, and Luke Brown; and one half-sister, Mary Brewer.

The family has requested in lieu of flowers to consider a donation to Melanoma Research Foundation ( Melanoma.org ), M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, or the charity of your choice.

Dossman Funeral Home in Belton is in charge of the arrangements.