Passings

Tom Cash left us yesterday, shuffling off this mortal coil after a brief battle with cancer. Facebook posts and emails flying from friends and family around the globe suggest that he was diagnosed with liver cancer just a few weeks ago. Now he is gone.

Tom was 42 and spent his final days in a Saskatoon hospital bed with his sister Janne and father Martin by his side. Janne was a great trumpet player, a year ahead of me in high school. Martin was a fabulous social studies teacher.

The condolences are piling up on Tom's Facebook page, which provides an eerie window into his life. Above is his final posting from April 5th.

"I'm gonna be away for while," he wrote.

"My condition is more serious than I initially thought," he continued.

"I hope for the best."

Tom had a gregarious smile and an uproarious laugh. He will be missed. Our thoughts, our prayers, our best memories fly across the firmament to the heavenly gates where he is sitting in the embrace of his mother.

Tom Jordens posted the following:

"Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy."

R.I.P. Tom Cash (1967 - 2010)

May 7, 2010 - 193 pounds, 28.2% body fat