Its been 2 years since Tom passed away on a day he was supposed to be headed back home. The world that Tom loved has changed in that time. He would surely have found more things that are quite contradictory to his values and sense of caring for everybody around him. I can imagine a drive with him into the countryside talking about his next plan to defeat Antoine Lavoisier's law and create free energy!! All of us who knew you miss you. I hope you are continuing your lively arguments on the other side Tom. Rest in peace.

I met Tom about 2 ½ years ago, he was working on his dune buggy at my house. I noticed that he had ice packs around his back to help control the constant pain he was enduring. I found it remarkable that he would fight through that pain to work almost a full day on his projects. That was the beginning of a very rewarding relationship for me. Over the next two years I came to know Tom well. He was not about to give in to the many physical problems he had, he was a fighter, for life and living. He had a true “good heart” and we had many discussions about politics around the world, and the great disparity between the haves and the have nots. Tom had one of those rare qualities we find in some people, he was interested in everything around him, science, medicine, politics, literature,history, art, religion. He was one of the few people that I could have a discussion with on just about any subject.
We talked about our boyhoods, the things we did and enjoyed. He grew up in Wisconsin and he talked about his chemistry set and the explosives he made, skipping rocks over the water to see if he could reach a nearby island, he was good at baseball, and a good overall athlete. His accident while in the Navy eventually took away so much of his physical vitality. But Tom was not complainer, he carried on in life, and loved to undertake artistic projects, even though at times you could tell it was very difficult and tiring for him.
Tom left so quickly, there was no time to say goodbye or tell him how much I appreciated his friendship. It’s frankly hard to accept that he is not with us anymore. But it is comforting to know that he had close friends who remember him as fondly as I do. 
So his memory will live on in us…good bye Tom from all of your friends!

Tom was my friend and I hope this memorial will serve as a gathering place for his family and friends to share little snippets of information so we all know him, a little better.

Tom was born in Two Rivers, WI and graduated from Rhinelander Union High School in the summer of 1965. He enlisted in the US Navy and was stationed at Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. After leaving the Navy Tom found his true love, melding wood and art something he inherited from both his parents. His other love was science. He was fascinated by the developments in the world of medicine and would be a little child breathlessly describing the possibilities of the new frontiers of medicine.

Tom was an unrepentent believer in helping the less fortunate and throughout his life liberally gave to many charities. He put his trust in fellow beings and shrugged off when his faith turned out to have been misplaced.

Tom is survived by his sister, Jeanne Branzolewski, his brothers, Richard and Ralph and his many friends, whose lives he has touched.

Please take a moment to share your memories of Tom with us.