I would like to thank
Kay and the family for letting me share some thoughts about Tom's
life. From the first time I met Tom, I would always hear how
lucky he was. They guys at Colders would always say how lucky
he was in sales and in business and how lucky he was to have such a
loving wife and great family, and how everything would always fall
into place for him.
After I knew him for a while, I started to watch him and how he
conducted himself. It didn't take me too long to figure out
that Tom wasn't just lucky, Tom was good.
He worked harder than
anyone else on the sales floor, and that work paid off as he was
number one in sales for about 24 years in a row (quite a string of
luck), all the while providing a good life for Kay and his family.
Tom was also tougher than anyone I have ever met. He met the
illness that he suffered from head-on. In the last seven years
or so he managed to make it through severe pain from rheumatoid
arthritis, a broken neck, crushed vertebrae in his back, major
breathing problems, ankle replacement surgery, staph infections, arm
surgery, numbness in his hands and legs, an enlarged heart and most
recently the halo device to help heal his neck.
Up until the last surgery, Tom continued to work. Whether in a
wheel chair or walker, or even if he had to be carried in, Tom
persevered through circumstances that would have crippled other men
both physically and mentally. And not only did he show up for
work when most people wouldn't even get out of bed, he did his job
as only Tom could do -- continuing to be one of the top salespeople
in the entire company at Miracle Ear year after year.
When he wasn't
working, he spent his time as a role model raising his beautiful
children with Kay and instilling in them their Christian values.
Tim, Kristy, and
Sheri - you should know that he loved you all deeply and he talked
about all of you often. Just recently he talked about how
proud he was of Tim, and how happy he was that he found Jen.
He always said that Tim reminded him of himself, except that Tim was
good looking. He would say that Kristy was beautiful, smart
and loving, just like Kay, and that she was well on her way to
becoming a very special woman.
And then of course
there is Sheri. Tom always had a glow in his eyes when he
spoke of any of his children, but his whole face lit up when he said
anything about Sheri. He would say how much of a help Sheri
was to Kay around the house, and what a great companion she was to
him as she helped keep his spirits up during these last few years.
He was very proud of all of you, and loved you very much.
I also would like to
say a few words about Kay. In these last few years as Tom's
health had gotten worse, Kay would almost never leave his side.
Her tireless, prayerful support encouraged Tom to continue to fight,
and provided him a comfortable, safe place to rest when the struggle
threatened to overwhelm him. He told me a I'm sure he told
many of you that he thought Kay was a saint. And as much of
struggle as it was for him these last few years, he could not have
survived so long and lived so well without Kay.
I ask all of you to pray for Tom and his family. Let his life
be an inspiration to yours.
Understand that
things happen in life that we cannot control and how we deal with
them is the true measure of our being. Tom showed us how to
persevere through unimaginable agony. And he did it the way he
did everything else. With strength, determination, and
dignity, Tom showed us how to live and I ask you all to honor his
memory.
He may have indeed
been lucky, but he was really, really good.
Given by
John Dunne at Tom's funeral
on 8/23/2005
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