A place to share our comments and memories of Thom. Your comments will be posted unedited.
The Beauty of Love: Embracing Grandness in Life
Life is fleeting. It’s a mere spark in the vastness of the universe, but within its brevity lies the potential for immense joy and fulfillment. And at the core of this beautiful journey, love stands tall, offering us an unparalleled sense of grandness.
Love has the power to transform our existence, to make every moment worthwhile. It comes in many forms – the love of a partner, the love of family and friends, and even the love we have for ourselves. This profound element, the language of the soul, often experienced through emotions, has the ability to bring light to the darkest corners of our lives, filling them with warmth and hope.
When we open our hearts to love, we embrace all the wonders it brings. It shares, teaches us compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. It allows us to connect with others on a deep level, to share our dreams and fears, and to create lifelong memories.
Love is a force that transcends boundaries and unites us all. It knows no race, religion, or gender. It is a language understood by every soul, a universal bond that binds us together as human beings. In a world often divided by differences, love is the common thread that weaves us into a beautiful tapestry of humanity.
But love is not without its challenges. It requires vulnerability and courage to open ourselves up, to experience and share it fully. Yet, it is precisely through these experiences that we grow and learn about ourselves and others. Love teaches us resilience and strength, enabling us to overcome the hurdles that life throws our way.
So, let us cherish the grandness of love in our lives. Let us celebrate the moments of joy it brings and find solace in its embrace during times of sorrow. Let us prioritize love above all else, for it is the essence of our existence.
There were many “Thom ways” that would drive me crazy, he was an admitted pack rat and messy and I am a “neat freak and order” type of person. Whenever it became too much and to prevent the slightest chance of resentment or any interference in our friendship, I would ask myself, “do you love Thom?” and the answer was yes … so with that foundation, I wiped all the thoughts and emotions (noise) above that foundation clean and figured out how to work with his way.
It was important that he knew and felt, this was his home too and that there was nothing he could do to make him feel he had to leave or, not be at home.
Thom told me in his last number of weeks, that our Ancaster home was the best place he had lived in and a place that he truly felt was “his” home, and this brought joy to me as this was one of my wishes for him when we started the journey of being roommates.
Love would always triumph and the rest was just noise to be sorted out.
Tad was my uncle. He was last of his siblings. He spent so many of my growing up years that we did not talk much. But when he came to Canada we talked about once a month. Mostly about his illness and other family members. My husband has the same illness. He loved pictures of my kids and grandkids and great grandkids. Mostly of all the dogs we had over the years. I will miss our conversations.
I am not quite sure why Thom took an interest in me at SJSO. I wasn’t a very spectacular student and I do not know how I passed grade 8 Germán but he did have a way to get us motivated without towering the “swats” over our head. He watched over me when I had the bad head injury in grade 9 and was in and out of hospital, until the school sent me home. He also came out with us that went from the Ontario school to the Selkirk school and that meant all new teachers and class mates; it was nice to have him there.
After school he convinced my parents that I should get some international experience and so Honduras was chosen. Now that I know his Mexico City childhood story, I am not surprised he wanted to teach me spanish and go speak with the Hondurans in their native language. It was one of the best times of my life, second best, to SJSO at the time.
The last 5 years living with Thom where we kept an eye out for each other, meant more then I realized to me while he was alive and now that he is gone, I miss him every day .. even all the annoying habits of his.
He is gone and I don’t like it but I am also happy for him, as the day to day was becoming a real struggle and frustrating for him.
He got to enjoy a great porch, evening sunsets, a garden of his own and feeding the wild creatures whom he would tamed a bit… and of course being loved through and through – no matter what, unconditional…
Thom , what is there to say, but a bloody interesting chap. The summer of the St John’s canoe accident, I was slightly out of sorts, after a swim in the lake, reporter taking liberties, funerals and inquest. Thom took me on a road trip to Ohio, to meet his family, pump gas at the family gas station and help dispose of a truck of found sandals, haha.
He found mom a job at tectonics, rented a room from mom and dad and was support for my family dealing with St. John’s.
I recall having his own swat stick, that he’d not share with any other master. The sauerkraut he tried to make in the basement of St. johns, that stunk the place out.
All in all, a good fellow, who is missed.
I’ve always respected and admired ‘Mr Gruber’, (sorry I still can’t call him Thom ☺️). He was a kind and thoughtful teacher who’s greatest desire was to bring out the best of his students and let them see what true attributes they had within.
I remember jerking around in his English class just before we were to do a play called, Ants of Antland. Knowing Mr Gruber was German, I took my comb and put it under my nose and pretended I was Hitler directing the ants of Antland…
Oops, Mr Gruber thought that was awesome and asked me to do that for the play. That’s when I found out just how shy I was in front of a crowd… To this day I fondly remember him trying to help me to get over my fear of public speaking, and that was the twist of the key I needed. Now I can publicly speak to hundreds with boldness and confidence, (inside my heart is freaking out and knees knocking) 😂
Another area Thom, (omg I called him by his first name ☺️), was when I was on his maintenance crew in Manitoba. He taught me how to fix stuff like holes in the wall with plaster then paint, and how to use a typewriter, (way before computers lol).
I always wanted to meet up with Mr Gruber again and thank him kindly for the time and effort he gave to me and other fellow St John’s students. Unfortunately that meeting never came to pass…
Dear Mr Gruber thank you, for helping a wayward lost lad over come his fears and and put a purpose to my life.
Major Chuck Grenkow (retired) 557