Nine and Dine event Oct. 11 to raise funds for Beebe’s Tunnell Cancer Center
My husband, Tom King, succumbed to bladder cancer in November, 2017. During his two-year battle, and since his death, I have come to realize that Tom was special to many.
He spent his life nurturing friendships and serving the Cape community. He would be proud and humbled to know that a fun Nine and Dine golf event to be held Thursday, Oct. 11, at Mulligan’s Pointe in his name will benefit the Tunnell Cancer Center.
Tom lived large! He loved people and he loved a party. Throughout his life, he sought camaraderie. He became a fan of golf after giving up his first sport, tennis, in his early 30s. He never said so, but I think he liked golf because he met more people. Golf also gave him the opportunity to do something his father enjoyed.
Tom’s father Earl was diagnosed with lung cancer in the late ‘90s. It was during his treatment at Beebe Hospital that Tom met Dr. Srihari Peri. They established a bond. Occasionally, they played golf together. Through their love of golf and their common interest in the welfare of our community, Dr. Peri and Tom became friends.
Tom began serving on the Beebe board of directors shortly after his father died. He loved helping people and grew to understand the benefits of having a good local hospital. During his 15 years of service, the board’s leadership, dedication and caring resulted in Beebe Healthcare as it is today, an excellent and acclaimed healthcare facility. Tom was pleased to be a small part of Beebe’s growth and accomplishments.
In 2005, when Tom’s Uncle Med was diagnosed with cancer, he again turned to Dr. Peri for help. With a round of radiation, Uncle Med’s cancer was cured. Dr. Peri’s care and treatment gave us hope that cancer is not always fatal. Then in 2015, Tom was diagnosed with bladder cancer. In the two years of his illness, he was in and out of Beebe a dozen times with all the complications that arise from bladder cancer. He learned as a patient just exactly how Beebe functions in the trenches. From the community of doctors and nurses he supported and believed in as a board member, Tom received skilled, compassionate care. When Tom began his cancer treatments at Tunnell Cancer Center, Dr. Peri was at the helm providing expertise, encouragement and emotional support. Dr. Peri was a beacon of light and a realist too. He became Tom’s spiritual brother.
Before Tom died, he voiced a wish - to give a donation to Beebe that impacted a project dear to him. Later, when I made the donation on Tom’s behalf, I learned that Beebe was planning an education and family resource area to be named for Dr. Peri. I was thrilled. I thought, cancer patients and their families will benefit from this much-needed space. Dr. Peri, a doctor ardently dedicated to his patients, will receive much-deserved recognition! And lastly I thought, Tom’s request will be fulfilled!
So when friend Ralph Short came to me suggesting a golf event to raise funds for Tunnell Cancer Center in Tom’s memory, I immediately said yes. Ralph and Tom’s good friend, Dennis Forney, enlisted Beebe Foundation’s help, and a benefit called Nine and Dine in memory of Tom was born!
Please considering joining us for Nine and Dine, Tom King’s Memorial Golf Benefit. Even if you don’t golf, there are tickets just for happy hour, dinner, auction and music with dancing. What a day it will be!
Great fun raising money for our great local cancer center! I look forward to seeing you there. To register to golf or purchase dinner tickets, go to www.beebemedicalfoundation.org or call 302-644-2900.
With gratitude,
Chris King
