Tom's love of aviation started when he was only five years old. He earned his private pilot license in a Piper J-3 Cub when he was 17. Tom loved to share the joy of aviation with others and flew more than 134 Young Eagles.

Tom was a loving and affectionate husband and father. He loved spending time with his family and friends. He was a fun guy to hang around with. He was always wise cracking or poking you in the ribs with his wry sense of humor, a real wise-guy, to say the least. And smart, too. He never let on how smart he really was, unless you started asking questions, then he turned into a professor.

In addition to being a distinguished cardiologist and heart transplant surgeon at the University of Toledo Medical Center (think about that for a minute!), it was only after his death that I learned he also earned a Masters Degree in Quantum Physics (!). Not that any of that mattered much to him. Whenever Tom was around he was just one of the guys, and I’m sure he preferred it that way. He didn’t like to be called doctor! Tom was also an avid musician and loved to play guitar.

He could have bought a quick-build kit but was determined to build his RV-8 from a slow-build kit. I think this was because of his determination to overcome his physical limitations. He had three hip replacements and some spinal fusing from a disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis, which is a painful rheumatic disease that causes arthritis of the spine and sacroiliac joints. He worked on his RV-8 for the past three years and completed the wings and empennage, and he built the fuselage to just beyond the QB stage.

Tom was never ‘down’ or negative, I don’t recall him ever saying anything bad about anyone. Even when he was in terrible pain (from one of his hip replacements) he didn’t complain, and he didn't let it stop him from taking his first ride in an RV! That’s another reason those pictures of Tom in John Furey's yellow RV are so special. Look at them again, he was in major pain that day and he didn’t let it slow him down.

Tom was helping at nearly every EAA Chapter 582 event. His wife, Joanne, and their two four-year-old children, Nick and Kayla, were usually right there with him. Pouring concrete or pancake batter (sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart) Tom was there. Setting-up or tearing-down, they were there too. He was elected Vice-President of EAA Chapter 582 in November 2006. Tom always came to the Chapter 582 Builders Meetings. He had an insatiable appetite for knowledge!

Toledo's Channel 11 news did a feature story about Tom's death titled Gone in an Instant (11MB) and watching the video may help you understand what a tragic loss Tom's death has been to his young family, and the community.

One of Tom's associates, Dr. Blair Grubb, wrote a poignant In Memoriam (1.3mb PDF) about Tom that was published in the Spring 2007 issue of the ToledoMedicine Magazine.

Bob Collins from the RV Builder's Hotline interviewed me after Oshkosh AirVenture 2007 and wrote an article about Tom and my plan to complete Tom's RV-8. See Bob's story here and listen to our interview here.

Tom was very passionate about aviation and gave generously of his time and money to support EAA Chapter 582 and the Young Eagles program, completing Tom's RV-8 is my way of paying it forward.

Thank you for your support.