Tom was deeply loved, respected and admired by students, colleagues and friends to an extent I have not seen with any other teacher. He had a PhD in counseling and he counseled all the time, with anyone anywhere who needed professional ears and guidance. I will miss him, along with many others.
A few years ago, I wrote this about him:
Tom
As usual for me, another good friend that is very tall. I am short so my tendency to make friends with quite tall men emphasizes the difference in our heights. My college roommate was also my partner at a Scouting outpost a few years earlier. In the woods or on the campus, we looked like Schwarzenegger and DeVito together.Whether it is Don or Perry or Tom, there is little me and big him. But Tom has been a special friend. When I landed in this small town, he gave me a place until my family got here and our house was ready. That was more than 40 years ago. Off and on, since then, we have been in each other's lives. He again gave me a place to stay 20 years ago when I was teaching and living in two places.I am very confident that there have been times when he got a little irritated with me. Most people I know have found me bothersome one time or another. But he has never shown any such feelings. He is a counselor and a good one. Despite our differences in background, outlook, habits and area of specialization, he has always seemed empathetic and understanding.Tom is a cultured and scholarly man. He loves good art, music, jewelry and literature. He loves languages, especially ancient ones.It is definitely not just me who finds him to be that sort of person. Literally, hundreds of people for all walks of life and from all the decades of his life feel the same way about him. That includes people on several continents, too.It is a little difficult to write a salute to Tom since the feelings of so many people about the guy are on the level called "love". That would not be a good description for most men but it is quite true of Tom.
