A quiet polymath with a gently dry sense of humor, Tom always stayed busy with creative interests in his spare time, but music was probably his most consistent passion. Over the years, Tom became an accomplished guitar player, a pursuit he regretfully had to give up in the last couple of decades or so due to arthritis in his hands. He was kind about playing the guitar if urged, but, for decades, was especially generous about sharing recordings of whatever performers/composers he was listening to. When our vast collection of audio tapes started wearing out and giving way to CDs in the late 90s, I noticed that about 90% of the tapes were recorded by Tom, who introduced us to several genres we likely would not have learned to appreciate on our own. Right now, our replacement stack of unboxed TEW gift CDs would probably tower to 3 or 4 feet.

Tom’s sense of humor was especially endearing: subtle, even sneaky in a way, because t’was original and spontaneous. Consequently, our nuclear family’s dialect is enriched by Tom-quotes: words and phrases that were specific to the moment, so maybe hard to explain. Kind of ‘you had to be there’, but if you were, you’ve remembered it for years….

Tom was just the best of company, in so many ways, and we shall miss him very, very much.

James Palmer and Pamela, Jamie, Shannon and Amanda