Father, Son, Friend, Brother – Forever in our Hearts

Brilliant, talented, funny, and beautiful. My favorite thing about him is that he could tell you the artist, album, and release year of any given song within the first ten seconds of it. I was just enamored by his ability to store all of that information so effortlessly. He was so passionate about music. His dream was to be a music producer and I have no doubt in my mind that we would’ve been a prolific addition to the industry. I once caught him in the shower just belting out some R&B song at the top of his lungs. He was at peace when he was with music.

His hugs were a slice of heaven. If you were lucky enough to get a real hug from Tom, you’ll probably never forget it. It was as if he became a part of you for a moment and he would keep hugging until it was almost uncomfortable. He gave himself fully to embracing those he loved in his arms. He and his dad had the Bear Hug where they would hug tightly and growl. He and Truett did the same thing. I hold tight to the memory of one of our last hugs where we stood in the middle of his garage and the pull thing from the garage opener ended up resting on my face. I didn’t care because, in that moment, all I could feel was his heart.

Tom had so many layers. Some were annoying, some were hard to love, and some were raw. But there were also layers of him that were incredibly beautiful, loving, fun, passionate, and robust. As a whole, Tom was a person we were lucky to have known. He was authentic, loyal, and compassionate. Once he loved you, he would never stop. He didn’t hold grudges, he considered people’s intentions, and he forgave freely.

He was an amazing father. While neither of us was ready for a child, Truett was born to two very loving parents. He was proud to be a father and loved relating to Truett through his own inner child. We got Truett an electric Jeep for his birthday one year and I think Tom enjoyed it more than Truett did. We went to the park one day with the dogs in tow. Tom hopped in that little Jeep with his knees sticking out both sides, hit the gas to get to a solid five miles per hour, and yelled “If ya ain’t first, you’re last”. He loved being goofy with Truett, taking him to the trampoline park and the bouncy houses, and watching movies with him. Tom insisted that Truett’s initials be TDF in honor of his dad. We spent months trying to settle on a name and didn’t have his middle name until the day we went to the hospital. He had many stipulations for our son’s name, and I’m so glad he did. He named Truett and that is something that I am so thankful for.

While I was pregnant with Truett, we watched Game of Thrones religiously and we never ever skipped the intro because it was always changing. We joked that the theme song would be engrained in Truett’s mind since he heard it constantly while in the womb. He loved Game of Thrones like it was a living thing, which it kind of was, at least until the last season. He not only read all of the books but had essentially memorized every sentence. He would school me on details the directors probably weren’t even aware of. He would regularly quote Jon Snow and we likened our relationship to Daenerys and Drogo. The night before Truett was born, the season finale came out so we somehow squeezed into my hospital bed and watched it on the laptop before a nurse came in and said we weren’t allowed to be in the bed together. We did it anyway.

Tom was a remarkable human. His heart was gold and he loved with his entire being. He lived for his love of his family and friends, of music, of animals, of Game of Thrones, and of God. He lived in faith and hope. He will be remembered forever as being a brilliant, funny, authentic, and loving human. We will never forget his hugs, sense of humor, goofiness, and laugh. We love you more than all of the stars in the sky, Tom. Stay sweet.