My Brother
Brilliant, gifted, funny, hard working, giving, philosophical and kind - that was my little brother.
I always felt that Tommy more than lived up to his middle name - was a larger-than-fiction, real life, Peter Pan. With a twinkle in his eye and filled with mischief to his very core, the rules of everyday living simply did not apply to him! His greatest gift was transforming this ordinary world into his very own Never Land…work or play, every day brought a new adventure that he shared with everyone around him. Growing up, but never growing old – he departed this world way too young.
Big Sister Memories:
-A little boy with buzzed hair, bunny teeth and a bulging pocketful of parts – Tommy name each one! One favored item that he carried faithfully for months he named his “bicycle stawnker.” Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to the actual piece of equipment he so lovingly nurtured!
-My sister, Karen, and I dressing him up in our dresses and Easter hats..his hair didn’t help the look!
-Principal’s office, St. Anne’s Catholic School in Salt Lake City, UT. My little brother sitting on a bench next to the door, a devilish grin on his sweet, innocent face. Sister Coronoa, an ill-tempered little gnome of a nun, scolding me with her molasses-thick Irish brogue because Tommy had brought the Playgirl of the Month centerfold to share with his first grade buddies – why ever not????!!!
-Trying to convince my 3-year-old son, Chris, that he didn’t own an imaginary dog named Grover and that his name was not Fred Delbert – even though his teen hero, Uncle Tommy, had convinced him that those were the facts. Chris and his brothers and sister joined Uncle Tommy’s legion of followers at very young ages, participating in adventures that I’m glad I didn’t hear about until they were fully grown!!!
-Flying to Lake Tahoe to celebrate Tommy and Jana’s wedding - how lucky was this Peter to find his real life Wendy?!! Who else could have lovingly persisted through every adventure - Tommy truly had the luck of his Irish ancestors when he found Jana.
-Remodeling my too-small house after the surprise arrival of our twin boys – Tommy coming to the rescue and spouting his immortal phrase, “Don’t worry, I can do it in a day!”
-Following my niece, nephew and kids as Tommy lead our families on yet another adventure – always knowing that the next time we were together, there would be a smile at the end.
There is a hole in my heart since you left, Tommy – I love you.
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Aunt Gail. Thank you so much for sharing this. I know I posted it but I didn't read it because it wasn't right for me that day. But being back at home alone for the first day since we lost Daddy, this brought lots of smiles and tears to my face. "I can do it in a day" hahahahaha that's such a classic! HOW many times did we hear him say those words! And God bless him for believing them every time they flew out of his mouth.
ReplyDeleteOh,God, I am so in shock!! I was looking for Tommy's email or snail mail address so I could invite him to come to our 40th reunion, in October. He surprised me when he showed up at our 3oth and we both cried and reminiced about the crazy years we spent growing up at the Kona Palms. So many memories...I am just devastated. He was very special and I feel really blessed to have connected with him ten years ago. My love to his wife, his children and to Karen and Gail. Becky (Blagg) Heydorff
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