Sharon and I met Tom and his wife Dianne in the Fall of 1986 shortly after they moved here from Florida. They did not know many people in Colorado at that time, but we started a friendship right away. In fact, Tom became one of my first clients after I began my career as a financial advisor. I worked with him for over 28 years helping him plan for retirement, and then enjoying it the last 8 years. Unfortunately, Dianne passed away over 10 years ago, and Tom lived by himself since then. You knew he liked being retired as he always had a business card stating that fact. Some of the cards he gave me said the following:
Retired and Lovin’ It, Retired Rocket Scientist, and the last one – Retiree, Knows it all and has plenty of time to tell you about it. I only wish he had more time!
Tom was very smart and detail oriented. He knew a lot about life, and never hesitated to tell us how he felt about world events. His opinions were valuable to listen to, even if you disagreed with him. Not many people had his wisdom. It will be missed.
Tom was a big fan of the Denver Broncos, the Colorado Rockies, and the Auburn Tigers. He was always at our Broncos parties, and never missed our Super Bowl party in the last 20 years. I will always remember the many Rockies games we attended together. One of Tom’s favorites was Todd Helton’s last game at Coor’s Field in September 2013. Todd retired that year, and the celebration that day was quite memorable. In fact, Tom was supposed to be in Phoenix to see the Rockies for Spring training this year with best friend Chuck Winfield. He passed away on March 7, the day he was scheduled to fly there. Few people had his passion for sports.
Finally, Tom enjoyed traveling. He would always tell us about the places he visited, and posted lots of pictures from his trips. He loved trains, and some of his best pictures were famous locomotives. He also told us some places he wanted to go. In fact, he had an actual bucket list of places he wanted to visit. How many people do you know have written down list of things you want to do and places you want to go? Tom had one! This Summer, he was planning a trip to the California coast through Redwoods National Park. Tom also wanted to see Yellowstone, a place he had plans for, but never materialized. He had crossed off several things on his bucket list, but there was many left to do. His death is a lesson for all of us – don’t let your dreams go unfulfilled. Make plans today and see that they are accomplished. I have a saying on my wall that says: Enjoy Life Now! It has an expiration date. Since we don’t know what date that is, make the best of the time you have. Tom sure did! Only at age 74, he should have had much more time.
He will be missed!
Richard Allen
Like me, Tommy was one of the geekiest geeks in our class, but was also one of the smartest and hardest working, so it was only natural that he became a rocket scientist. As seniors our lunch break came just befor Mrs. Moore's math class (Trig in the Fall and Solid Geometry in the Spring), and we had to wait in the hall outside her room for class to start. Tommy, Kenneth Bolding, Tommy Kullman and I would often eat together, then entertain ourselves in the hallway re-fighting WWII. Mrs. Moore was in her first year as a teacher, and we all liked her, but sometimes we would test her. I do not remember who the instigator was, probably not Tommy, because he was too nice, but one day we decided to line up in a military fashion, march in, and all stand at attention beside our desks until someone commanded "Seats!" Mrs. Moore just stood there with her mouth open for a few seconds, then laughed with the rest of us. DHS had a lot of great teachers who served us well, and a lot of good students who I know made them proud, even though we sometimes drove them crazy, and Tommy was one of the best. Richard Allen
Sandi Slape (Crane)