68 years
I would be remiss if I didn't share the good with the bad.
This was a long week. Although there was pumpkin carving and trick-or-treat, there was an underlying piece for me that I didn't share. I was grieving the loss of Tom Halm.
Who is Tom Halm, you might ask.
Well, I learned more about Tom today than I expected. During his funeral.
You see, Tom and his wife Peg, and their kids Doug and Marti, joined our small group late last spring. It was a refreshing time of new faces and perspectives, and when those opportunities come along, you just know there is a good reason.
Tom and Peg had a special place in my heart from the moment I met them. There was something about him that rang the familiar. Maybe it was the conversion from the Catholic church to our Newark Naz home. Maybe it was the interest he showed in getting to know each of us. Maybe it was knowing he was facing a great ailment and not sure of when, or how, it would be cured.
Either way, he has been another lesson for me to not let time slip by without taking that step with people in my life. Of reaching for joy and expressing that faith, hope, and love each and every day. Of keeping my family absolute priority even when it feels like they aren't giving back. Of continuing my current mission of living every day to the fullest.
Tom seemed to have touch a very large number of people in his 68 years on this earth. I hope to accomplish the same. His son summed it up perfectly at the eulogy today. "Tom has left this earth to go to a better place. However, Tom left this world a better place." May that be my mission too. And best wishes for Tom, in his next chapter!
Obituary: Thomas L. Halm
March 8, 1940-Oct. 27, 2008
October 29, 2008
A funeral service for Thomas L. Halm, 68, of Newark, formerly of Sylvania, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Newark Church of the Nazarene, 200 S. Williams St., Newark, with Wes Humble officiating. Burial will be in Newark Memorial Gardens.
Tom passed away Monday at the Cleveland Clinic. He was born March 8, 1940, in Fremont. He was a 1958 graduate of Toledo Central Catholic High School where he was the sports editor of the school newspaper. In 1963, he graduated from the University of Toledo, earning a BBA. Following graduation from college, he joined the U.S. Army. He was discharged in 1965 as a first lieutenant. Tom worked as an accountant; he retired in 1997 from Brown Motor Sales where he worked as treasurer and controller. Tom was a member of the American Legion, Knights of Columbus and Newark Church of the Nazarene. He was active in youth hockey, managing several hockey teams in Toledo and Sylvania. He enjoyed woodworking, golf, bowling, working outside and was an avid sports fan.He is survived by his mother, Janet (Halbeisen) Halm-Durnwald, of Fremont; his wife of 46 years, Margaret “Peg” (Machinski) Halm, whom he married June 30, 1962; a daughter, Deborah (Daniel) Skarda, of Boulder, Colo.; a son, Douglas (Marlisa) Halm, of Newark; grandsons, Zachary and Nathan Halm; sisters, Judith Horvath, of Toledo, Pamela (Dale) Lister, of Jefferson, Ga., and Mary Lynn (Patrick) Hart, of Northborough, Mass.; and several nieces and nephews.Tom was preceded in death by his father, Richard Halm.
This was a long week. Although there was pumpkin carving and trick-or-treat, there was an underlying piece for me that I didn't share. I was grieving the loss of Tom Halm.
Who is Tom Halm, you might ask.
Well, I learned more about Tom today than I expected. During his funeral.
You see, Tom and his wife Peg, and their kids Doug and Marti, joined our small group late last spring. It was a refreshing time of new faces and perspectives, and when those opportunities come along, you just know there is a good reason.
Tom and Peg had a special place in my heart from the moment I met them. There was something about him that rang the familiar. Maybe it was the conversion from the Catholic church to our Newark Naz home. Maybe it was the interest he showed in getting to know each of us. Maybe it was knowing he was facing a great ailment and not sure of when, or how, it would be cured.
Either way, he has been another lesson for me to not let time slip by without taking that step with people in my life. Of reaching for joy and expressing that faith, hope, and love each and every day. Of keeping my family absolute priority even when it feels like they aren't giving back. Of continuing my current mission of living every day to the fullest.
Tom seemed to have touch a very large number of people in his 68 years on this earth. I hope to accomplish the same. His son summed it up perfectly at the eulogy today. "Tom has left this earth to go to a better place. However, Tom left this world a better place." May that be my mission too. And best wishes for Tom, in his next chapter!
Obituary: Thomas L. Halm
March 8, 1940-Oct. 27, 2008
October 29, 2008
A funeral service for Thomas L. Halm, 68, of Newark, formerly of Sylvania, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Newark Church of the Nazarene, 200 S. Williams St., Newark, with Wes Humble officiating. Burial will be in Newark Memorial Gardens.
Tom passed away Monday at the Cleveland Clinic. He was born March 8, 1940, in Fremont. He was a 1958 graduate of Toledo Central Catholic High School where he was the sports editor of the school newspaper. In 1963, he graduated from the University of Toledo, earning a BBA. Following graduation from college, he joined the U.S. Army. He was discharged in 1965 as a first lieutenant. Tom worked as an accountant; he retired in 1997 from Brown Motor Sales where he worked as treasurer and controller. Tom was a member of the American Legion, Knights of Columbus and Newark Church of the Nazarene. He was active in youth hockey, managing several hockey teams in Toledo and Sylvania. He enjoyed woodworking, golf, bowling, working outside and was an avid sports fan.He is survived by his mother, Janet (Halbeisen) Halm-Durnwald, of Fremont; his wife of 46 years, Margaret “Peg” (Machinski) Halm, whom he married June 30, 1962; a daughter, Deborah (Daniel) Skarda, of Boulder, Colo.; a son, Douglas (Marlisa) Halm, of Newark; grandsons, Zachary and Nathan Halm; sisters, Judith Horvath, of Toledo, Pamela (Dale) Lister, of Jefferson, Ga., and Mary Lynn (Patrick) Hart, of Northborough, Mass.; and several nieces and nephews.Tom was preceded in death by his father, Richard Halm.
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