Thomas Edward Hall.
Born October 12, 1965. Died July 22, 2022.
A soul who left this world too soon.
Tom is survived by his mother Arlene Hall, sisters Margret Hall and family, Julia Maizik and family, and Susy Hall and family. Last but not least, Suzette, Tom’s best friend and confidante.
Writing about Tom’s memory is the hardest thing that I have to do. I was told: “Never take your loved ones for granted.” And I have took Tom for granted for he was my big brother. Tom was the oldest of us and was our protector and our tormentor. I could tell stories about how Tom would chase us girls with snakes and tie us up to the trees with bed linens on the days that he was in charge. But I will not. Instead, I want to tell you about how much Tom loved his brain and why Tom’s traumatic stroke was the worst thing that could happen to him.
Tom was a person who needed to be intellectually stimulated. He loved photography and he was very good at it. He loved art and was the best doodler around. He loved to write, he kept a blog strong for 15 years. He loved computers and could sit in front of one for hours at a time. He had a pilot’s licence, he could drive big trucks, and when Tom decided to go to a university for his degree in criminology and a undergrad in computer sciences - I was not at all surprised! His graduation is one of my happiest memories of Tom. He never worked in these fields; instead, was content to work in warehouses. I truly believe he went to university simply because he could.
And then, Tom met his best friend Suzette and his world changed. He found someone who intrigued him and who could keep up with him. Tom followed Suzette to Terrace, BC, were I am sure he had the best five years of his life. He enjoyed home ownership and had a job he actually liked. He was actively learning German and had plans to visit Germany. However, these five years were not without strife. Tom may not have smoked cigarettes, or drank alcohol, or did drugs; but instead, had a food addiction to fast foods and high-sugar sodas. As a result, Tom had diabetes. Tom had a heart attack. Tom’s body was weakened and could not defend him self from air born molds. Tom was in and out of ICUs and emergency rooms. The day that Tom had his stroke……it was with heavy hearts, we had to let him go.
Tom will be forevermore be in our hearts and there will be a void in our lives forever. Tom will be sorely missed.
By Julia
January 5th, 2024
Our parents hung out together when Tommy and I were quite young.
Because our dads were friends, mine insisted that Tommy and Terrie would marry. Lol!!
Tommy really did love to tease girls! I will never forget the time I clawed his face. He was driving his car on my bedroom door while I was trying to sleep. Everyone kept telling him to stop, I kept crying and screaming. I finally opened the door and scratched his face. He quit.
I saw him a few times after that and then we moved to Alberta.
He tracked me down when I was 17 (he was 19) in Hinton. We had a nice visit and revisited our childhood memories.
It would be quite some time before I saw him again.
I have no idea how he managed to find me as we were constantly moving.
Smart cookie!
I’m sorry for your loss; and mine.
I will miss those surprise visits.
Terrie
December 31st, 2022
Hello, my name is Diane and I am a friend of Tom's from Fort Langley, B.C.
I was late in learning about Tom's passing, and I am still reeling from the shock of it. I thank you, Suzette, for tracking me down and letting me know. I am so, so, so sorry for your loss.
Fort Langley is a very small place. Not a town, a village really. I worked as the bookstore manager at Wendel's in Fort Langley and met Tom through his special orders of magazines and computer books. He would stand at the counter and talk and talk and talk, okay, he was quite buggy I must tell you (he was excited about the insides of those heavy, complex books and he wanted to talk about them). But he grew on me. We became friends.
There were things I got to know about Tom which made me really appreciate the person that he was. He was not flashy, but boy, he had some qualities that made him a real gem.
I came to know Tom as a very modest, humble, appreciative, hard-working guy. He had gratitude. And it was through his generosity in sharing his amazing skills and talent at computers which made me get to know him. In Fort Langley we all bump into each other on a regular basis and usually stand and chit chat for a while. One day I met Tom outside the post office and told him that I was heading for Texas and would send him a post card. He said, "Why send a postcard to one person when you can share your news through a blog?" It's because of Tom that I had an outlet for my writing that I came to love. He created a site for me and got me started writing of my adventures way back in 2007. He's the one that came up with a name. Tom is the one who walked me through the steps (did all the work) and made it seem simple (it wasn't). He never lost patience and was always encouraging and interested in helping me. He believed in Ubuntu so completely and their philosophy of sharing and passing it on, that he never charged anyone for his computer expertise, but had vowed to uphold the Ubuntu philosophy too.
Over the course of the years that went by Tom and I did share more than computer questions and help with upkeep. He'd come over and spend hours upgrading my old computer or solving what was a mystery to me but nothing to him. My way of thanking him was to feed him. I am no gourmet but the meal would be healthy and delicious and he'd love it. It was nice to hang out with a friend like him.
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I am sitting here lost in thought, but as the memories come up I will write them down...
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Tom was so proud that he attended university. So proud. What an accomplishment! On graduation day I joined his mother in the audience to watch him cross the stage and receive his degree. Afterwards we had some lunch on a beautiful sunny day sitting outside his trailer on lawn chairs. I knew he was so pumped, and so pleased to have his mom and a friend cheer him on that day.
I think of what Julia said, that he was so smart and had so many interests but he chose to work in warehouses. That always struck me too, and it was actually something I admired about him. He made his own decisions for his own reasons.
Someone in the village gave me an old Pathfinder, a real dogmobile. I took it because I was quite struck by the name, Pathfinder! But when I realized that I wasn't the one who would actually put it to good use, I gave it to Tom. I really think he was blown away by that, even though it was old, had some problems, and smelt to high doggy heaven. Another example of Tom's real appreciation for anything at all that someone would do for him. I hoped my gratitude for all that he'd given to me was commensurably worth what the Pathfinder could do for him. I believe it was the Pathfinder that got him back home to the north. (But really, no comparison.)
The last time I saw Tom I was no longer living in Fort Langley, but we had stayed in touch. We arranged to meet in Walnut Grove at a Denny's and as usual we were meeting over my laptop. We didn't have much time, but he cheerfully set to work and I sat there like a lump, and he made all the magical improvements. Then we had a good meal and talked easy as friends do.
He told me about Suzette; so happy for him! He sent me some photos. Kept in touch through his progress in employment, in proud home ownership, and I would check in with his blog to read about his and Suzette's day trips and points of interest. Wasn't Tom interested in pretty well everything? What a stellar quality to have! That was it; he enjoyed his mind. He loved learning.
It was after the fact that I heard about the heart attack. So awful. And what felt particularly awful was that I was living in Vancouver so close to St. Paul's and he had been in there alone and I wished I could have visited him and shown some support. Then came the pandemic. I emailed and asked if he was okay, because diabetes and all these health diagnoses made him a very vulnerable individual. But he said he was okay, and didn't complain about anything. Tom remained positive.
Our correspondence was infrequent when we both left the Fort. The last ten years I've been on my own health journey, but I always thought of Tom as my friend. His birthday is the same as my Texas granddaughter Colette, and this year as usual I sent him a Happy Post Card and wished him well as always. I never knew he was gone. Gone too soon is so true. When thinking of Tom, how he drove back up north to begin again, and how he'd found happiness, if I can speak for all of his friends, I'd say that made us all very happy imagining Tom in his life with Suzette. Because Tom deserved happiness.
My heart goes out to Suzette, to Tom's sisters, and all those that feel his loss as I do, please take care of yourselves.
"Tom, you are missed."
August 8th, 2022
I did not know Tom personally but I felt I knew him threw my cousin Suzette. My thoughts and blessings to all who loved Tom.
Condolences
Elaine Lloyd
Suzette’s cousin Australia
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