Tom’s Story

Site created on March 30, 2016

Welcome to our CaringBridge site. We've created it to keep friends and family updated. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement during this time when it matters most. Tom had surgery on March 16, 2016 at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, CA to remove a tumor on his pancreas. The surgery he had is called the "Classic Whipple" procedure. He also completed chemotherapy, which occurred once a week, with a 30 min IV infusion of the drug;"Gemzar" for 3 weeks, followed by a week off. This 3 weeks on, 1 week off cycle was repeated for a period of 6 months. Up until February, 2018, Tom continued to have "clear" CT scans. In May 2018, it was confirmed that the cancer had returned near the site of the original surgery from 2 years ago, but there were no signs of metastasis elsewhere in his body at that time. He underwent a 5-day course of high intensity targeted radiation therapy in late July/early August, 2018. As of November 2018, it appeared the cancer may be returning, and in January 2019, he started a new chemotherapy regimen - to be repeated every 2 weeks for 5 or 6 months. Thanks in advance for keeping in touch with us - although we may not be able to respond to each comment individually, all of your messages are read by us and greatly cherished!
UPDATE: Tom passed away peacefully on May 12, 2019, at home and surrounded by family. He is dearly missed.

Newest Update

Upcoming Celebrations of Tom's life - Palo Alto, Columbus, Todos Santos

Journal entry by Deborah Parrish —

We had a beautiful celebration of Tom's life with family and friends at our cabin in Dorrington, CA, on August 10th. I've attached a few photos.

And the following are reminders about upcoming gatherings to celebrate Tom's life (same as prior posting):

Sunday, September 22, 3-5 pm, Palo Alto, CA (309 Fernando Ave) - The open house is from 3-5pm. We will be planting a tree with some of Tom's ashes at 4pm. There will be live guitar and mandolin music, which is something Tom always enjoyed immensely.

Saturday, October 5, 3 pm - ?, Columbus, OH  - We will be celebrating Tom's life with his childhood buddies in Columbus, Ohio, along with his son and family and extended family. Saturday morning, we will be visiting the cemetery where Tom's parents are buried and will be scattering some of Tom's ashes over their graves, per his wishes. Please email me if you need the address of the Saturday afternoon gathering (debparrish@gmail.com).

Saturday November 30, 4-6 pm, Todos Santos, Baja Mexico - At our home on La Cachora Road, we will be gathering to celebrate Tom's life, plant a tree and bury some of his ashes in our garden.  

At each of these upcoming gatherings, there will be a guest book to sign and/or to document any 1-word descriptions, short phrases, or stories of any length about what knowing Tom meant to you or what you will most remember about him. I envision this as a very special keepsake for Tom's children and grandchildren. If you would like to add something to the book but cannot attend any of these gatherings or simply prefer to type, please email your thoughts (debparrish@gmail.com) and I'll add them to the book.

Once again - I appreciate all the love and support.
Read More of the journal titled "Upcoming Celebrations of Tom's life - Palo Alto, Columbus, Todos Santos"
  • Celebration of Tom's life,  August 10, 2019 at the cabin
    Celebration of Tom's life, August 10, 2019 at the cabin
  • Thanks for this beautiful photo, Iliana!
    Thanks for this beautiful photo, Iliana!
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