Share: 

Mourning loss, celebrating life Tom King

November 30, 2017

Struggling with loss is part of growing older, but lately losing close friends has really hit me as I have been hit by the death of Tom King.

Tom and I were Second Street neighbors for a number of years beginning in the early '80s and worked on a lot of events during that time. Separated by a few years at Cape, we had people and place in common, and soon we were working on events like the marathon and the Christmas parade.

I remember sitting in King's going through a box of former parade invitees to assemble the upcoming parade, and gradually it became a lengthy line-up wrapping around Highland Acres. We lined up the entries for many years, and I was surprised with a phone call from Tom in 2001 to invite me back for line-up duties after I moved to Virginia.

I would have come if I could, to see the boys and toast our accomplishments in the van. We worked the marathon for a few years and he had a big laugh when I christened my new wife with a shot of yellow French's mustard across the bow on a very warm day at the state park when I was grilling hot dogs for runners and others.

And yes, I appreciated his visit of condolence when we lost our infant son in May '93 in a time of great personal pain for our family. Even though I didn't get to visit him at hospice to say good-bye, I hope he and his family know I appreciate his friendship, humor, and friendly golf rounds.

RIP - Big Dipper and we will meet again at the 19th hole. We will miss you.

Respectfully,

Jack Morris
Salisbury, Md.

 

  • A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.

    To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter