My younger brother died last week. No one deserves the life he lived. Blessed with talent and cursed with an anger born in the ashes of the demise of our parents relationship, Tom found in alcohol a means to cope with things he could not control. As if that was not enough, he, like his uncle Sheldon, was fated to suffer from a large benign tumor in his brain. Uncle Sheldon was fortunate enough to die shortly after his tumor was removed. Tom, on the other hand, got to live with its repercussions for the rest of his life. Together with his stubborn independence, Tom’s relationship with alcohol proved to be more than his injured brain could handle. Yet despite decisions made, he did find many moments of joy as his body slowly took from him that which we take for granted. The path from independent living to assisted living to a nursing home is a story well documented. As Tom made this journey, he lost not only his mobility but more importantly his ability to talk. We can only speculate what his thoughts were during the last decade of his life. The nurses at Wolfeboro Bay were adept at dealing with his day to day whims while at the same time his overall cheerfulness also endeared him to those same people who took care of him right up until the end. In his youth, Tom was an avid outdoors person who like his siblings, was always up for a mountain adventure. In the perfect world I still imagine, he and I would be off each year to climb and hike out West. Given a fair shake at a normal life I have no doubt he would have been all over each and every opportunity. May he rest in peace. 

The Cremation Society of NH is assisting the family with arrangements. To view an online memorial, leave a message of condolence, or for more information, visit www.csnh.com.