Tom Sonday

We have received some amazing memories over the past couple of days, both by email and by comments on the blog. Dad wants to share the emailed memories with you all. If you wanted yours kept private and it’s up here, please let me know and I’ll pull it down immediately. I’m going to post some tonight and then spread other emails out over the next few days. PLEASE KEEP THE TOM MEMORIES COMING! He loves to read them, and so do we.

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Grown men aren’t suppose to cry, but I have already been shedding a few tears in the car driving by myself the last few days. The only thing that is keeping me at ease is Tommy made an impact on a lot of souls in his life time and soon he will be in a far better place.

I was reading the blog and was saddened that I don’t have the memories that others do but I will say that I love making Tommy pie and cheesecake, etc. And I love the way he made me feel special for doing that.

One of my fondest memories is the day in 1958 (approaching my seventeenth birthday) when I learned a new baby had become Little Tom and I was hence to be known as Big Tom – I was then and am still proud of my nephew Little Tom. Apparently the torment I had showered upon his Mom then his Mom AND Dad hadn’t permanently impaired their view of at least the name Tom! And so we became permanently bonded as Little Tom & Big Tom.

Over the years many, many events became great and lasting memories. I think I gave Tom his first clandestine motorcycle ride in 1962 on the occasion of Grandpa Lester and Grandma Myra’s move to a new farm. There were only a few motorcycle rides and they were necessarily short and safe due to the risk to our mutual life and limb – mostly from Ross and Nelda!

Then we did boating and learning to water ski and eventually the great boat trips on Lake Cumberland where family and friends, including Heather and a few of her friends, had great fun and made memories with Tom, too. Again I was a bad influence on Little Tom as I introduced him to Manhattans – unfortunately his Mom remembers that better than Tom does!

We’ve had many family gatherings with Euchre games where Tom (& Jim) invariably demonstrated their truly superior brain power and card playing skills. Once Tom & Jim decided Holly should be known as Pygmy and were merciless but hilarious in their good-natured ribbing of her about her petiteness.

The tradition of Father’s Day at Cedar Point has yielded many good times and fun memories, too, for the parents as well as the kids. One of the funniest things I have ever seen was when Tom & Charlotte decided that Becca was going to ride Magnum like it or not. Becca eventually stopped resisting and dutifully stood in the queue until the cars arrived; but when she got into the car, rather than sitting down, she simply stepped through to the exit side! Becca outsmarted Tom & Charlotte and won that battle hands down!

Great memories have been made during our many Vegas outings. Ted & Heather reminded me of sharing Yards of Hurricanes at 5 AM with Tom. I recall Tom & Heather arriving at Sunday brunch mostly incoherent from lack of sleep (mostly)! And Holly remembers She, Ellen Etien, & Tom’s mistaking a total stranger for Brian Schneider and Tom’s inquiring of the stranger as to Brian’s wife Natalie’s age – to which the stranger shrugged and gave a guess reply of 24?? I recall Tom harassing our friend Ellen (a near T-Totaller) about sitting at the bar and drinking like a sailor – Ellen loved it! Those good times live on forever in our memories.

Finally, I remember the horrible sinking feeling I (and everyone else) had at the news of Tom’s illness. Over the many months since that news we’ve continued to share both good and sad times and make many more good memories. Tom’s courageous battle with grace and humor have been an inspiration to all of the family as well as the larger community. Tom’s legacy (not without substantial LAARD wife help) of three smart and beautiful kids is great. He’s no longer Little Tom to me but BIG, BIG Tom.

So many memories, swimming in your pool, working with you, parties at Prima…! It seems so little to say that our prayers are with you, but they are. Tom, you are fighting a great fight, but God needs you at home. We are sad for us but happy for you. We love you guys!!!

While we certainly don’t have the years of history knowing you like so many of your close friends, the times we have spent with you, Charlotte, and your wonderful children have provided us with some wonderful memories. I think one of the first times we really spent together was when Yvonne and I were invited to one of your domino games. The only thing we had ever done with dominos was see how high we could stack them, or eat them, (that being pizza of course!) Your twelve-dots-on-one-domino blew us away and yet you were very patient as you helped us make our moves and avoid total embarrassment. And, as memory recalls, you were the overall winner that night.

My second memory revolves around your dedication to the Meals on Wheels program. You enlisted my help a couple of times when you were short-handed. I was very impressed with your organizational skills and how you assigned us our respective jobs of filling the orders so efficiently. Working with your “little buddy” was a treat and it was very evident how highly respected you were by the Senior Services staff. I really grew to respect you for what you did for others so unselfishly.

Thirdly, how will I ever forget the wonderful dinners we shared at Red Lobster. While having cancer is certainly not something we’d wish on anyone, your cancer battle did bring our two families closer and Yvonne and I will treasure our memories of the wonderful dinners we shared with you and my Uncle Kurt. Yvonne loved talking stock market stuff with you, (while Charlotte and I would “roll eyes.”)

And finally, Tom, you have demonstrated to everyone how to deal with life’s greatest adversity. Your wit, intelligence, humanity, kindness, and courage are things I will never forget. And you will never be forgotten. People may pass on, but our memories of them will last forever. Our memories of you will always be good ones. God Bless You, Tom Sonday!

MORE COMING TUESDAY MORNING …