My brother in law passed a few weeks ago. Tom, married to Mark's sister Sharon.
At Mark's college apartment, 1984
Though they were technically old enough to be our parents, we thought of them as just slightly older than us since they were young at heart. Sharon and Tom took me under their wings and made me part of the family.
At Mark's college graduation with his aunt Aagot and Uncle Ken, 1984
Visiting us at our first apartment in Austin.
At a UT football game - one of Tom's passions.
I was never all that close with Tom - he was a reserved kind of guy - but Mark was, and since I loved Sharon, I thought of Tom as family. We visited them several times in Dallas while we were in college, then when the time came to marry, Mark chose Tom as his best man.
The Best Man, 1985
Once we had a couple of kids, we weren't seeing them often as they lived in Dallas and we in Austin. We were poor, working full time, had our hands full with small children. And by the time we had Baby #3 and Baby #4, we had gone through many changes in life. We drifted from them and their two kids, who seemed to grow up in a blink . Fast forward to 2015 and Sharon passed. A hop, skip, and a jump, and Tom followed.
Tom and Sharon, with Bryan and Paige
Tom and Sharon at Rustown, 2012
We were separated by so many things, and it was apparent this last weekend at his funeral. I know a lot of folks want to give you advice to tell the people you love that you love them and spend more time with them while they are alive, but it doesn't always work out that way. But I will hang on to all of the happy memories and speak their names with love.
