Johnny Ely Rutherford went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, March 10, 2018 very peacefully in his sleep. He was a father, grandfather, friend and mentor to many. He was born December 8, 1943 to Edna and Dick Rutherford in Houston, Texas. He was married to his Bellaire High School sweetheart, Sandra Rod Rutherford for 53 years, and had 3 children, Tracie, Rip and Jason. God blessed each one of them with wonderful mates- Gene Dickey, Tracy Kizziar and Kristen Kitt. Johnny was greatly blessed again with 9 grandchildren- Brandon, Matthew and Andrew Dickey, Jordan, Jeremy. Jamison and Jacob Rutherford, and Riley and Gavin Rutherford. His joy and his pride were his family. Johnny graduated from the University of Houston in 1967 . He went to work for the AJ Rod company in 1964, and ran the company for over 50 years until his retirement in 2016. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, and absolutely loved living on the ranch in Smithville, Texas. He had hunted many places in the world and had achieved the “Big Five” from Africa and the “ Grand Slam of North American Sheep”.
He is preceded in death by his parents and brother Dennis Rutherford and is survived by all of his immediate family, a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Bob and Gay Rod, a niece and 3 nephews, Michelle Rod, Bobby Rod, Wyatt Beauchamp, and Mike Rutherford, Numerous cousins, and many, many very close friends.
There will be visitation at Forest Park Lawndale, 6900 Lawndale, Houston, Texas, Thursday, March 15, 5:00-8:00 pm. Service and Luncheon, Friday, March 16, 11:00-2:00. In Lieu of flowers, please make donations in Johnny’s honor to LiveBeyond.org , stjude.org , Smithvillefoodpantry.com or your favorite charity.
