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Thomas W. Shultz (Tucker*)
*This nick was the one used by his friends and opponents in the
pool playing world.
Born: April 25th, 1943
Died: May 12th, 2001
He had 23 years of Sobriety when he passed away.
He passed away from Pancreatic Cancer at the age of 59 years, 1 month and
17 days.
He was Cremated May 16th, 2001.
A friend of his had built a scale model pool table of different
kinds of hard wood to house the ashes. Tom was given it before he died and was very pleased with the gift Joe gave him.
A Memorial Service was held on the lawn at our home on June 16th, 2001.
Pastor Elza Boldman officiated.
Tommy was very fond of Lucy, one of our friends in AA. He
thought of her as a daughter. She came to the service dressed in a little black dress, her hair up on top of her head;
with fresh cut garden flowers in her arms, just for me; because she thought Tommy would have liked that. I told
her at the time I knew he would have appreciated it. Since that time, our dear friend Lucy was killed in an unfortunate
car accident. So I think that she and Tommy are probably having meetings in heaven with other old-timers.
Tommy was the kind of person that would admit when he was wrong. He spent the last 23 years of
his life going to AA meetings because he did this. He had a God of his own understanding and became very spiritual during
those last years. He was always there to help the new guy. One thing that he firmly believed in was not letting
anyone use him or anyone else like a doormat just because they were recovering alcholics. He gave that God of his understanding
all the credit for his sobriety and tried to be the best he could be to the other people whether they were in the AA
or not.
Tommy helped me learn to enjoy life. Both the small and big events got attention from him.
He cared about people who seemed to have a hard time caring for themselves but he could spot a phoney a mile away. Every
day we woke up there was a new adventure. Even disappointments were an opportunity for Tom. He never let
them ruin his whole day. I once asked him; "What is your purpose in life?" "Darling, that's simple.
My purpose in life these days is to fix computers and see to it that the people I love, especially you, aren't sad and have
a good time."
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| Evelyn, Tom, and Ruth at their wedding in 1998 |
"Time slips away no matter what you try to do...I am
fixing to tear up the rug as much as possible while I am still breathing with God's help."-Tom Shultz
And God Bless him ....He
did!
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God's Garden
God looked around His garden
And found an empty place.
He then looked down upon the earth,
And saw your tired face.
He put His arms around you
And lifted you to rest.
God's garden must be beautiful
He always takes the best.
He knew you were suffering
He knew that you had pain
He knew that you would never
Get well on earth again.
He saw that the road was getting rough
And the hills were hard to climb,
So He closed your weary eyelids
And whispered..."Peace be thine."
It broke our hearts to lose you,
But you didn't go alone.
For part of us went with you,
The day God called you home.
I shall always miss him but I know Tom is in a better place.
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| Tommy at one of our favourite cafes. |
Tom was a very loving and kind person; although a might
shy if he didn't know you. He made it a habit of stepping out and getting to know those to whom he took a real
liking. That is the way he got to know my sister Betty, Mom and my niece Mary. They were heartbroken when he passed
away as they really enjoyed being around the two of us. Tom made every occassion special. He was a blessing
to everyone who knew him well and great fun to spend time with. Tommy had a bright, engaging personality;
always ready with a joke or pool/life story. He knew how to make others feel comfortable in their skins. My
Tom was the genuine article! All his friends, family, and cats miss him dearly. Little Tonkerbell, our chocolate
Tonkinese died of a heart break within a month after Tom died. I miss Tommy a great deal. He will always
be remembered with fondness and love by all those who knew him.
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