this picture grabs me for some reason

I'm not sure who took this picture - Paula? Nina?
but I love how he seems to be in mid sentence - he was usually in mid sentence.

 Maybe I like the ruggedness of Tom next to the sleek silver car?

I have to say, I'm feeling a huge sense of calm knowing that Tom doesn't have to work so hard anymore.

Memorial Information

The memorial announcement is posted below.

The facts are:

2 pm Sunday the 18th April

1220 Russia Ave, San Francisco, CA 94112

415 337 9634

pjemail@earthlink.net

Taper Tom

Martha's classic photo of Tom at work

Mexico Day 3

Our appt was changed to the afternoon. Had we know we may have lingered in San Blas.

We were struck be many cultural differences. These are pictures on the way to the office.

This is the view from the office.

The DA was very young looking, wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt.

We would have been beside ourselves if we did not have Woody there with us translating.

Mexico Day 2 conclusion-

We left San Blas shortly after arriving. It had taken longer to get here than we thought.

We had a meeting with the DA near Puerto Vallarta at 8:00 am the next day,and we did not have a place to stay lined up.

We stopped in San Ignacio on the way down to place our modest cross.

The ground proved too hard, so we placed it on a fence a bit back form the street.

We (Paul) drove on down to Puerto Vallarta. We had a very difficult time finding a place to stay.

But we did manage to get settled.

Day 3 next...p

Missing Tom this evening

I really missing Tom as I get ready for the fantasy baseball draft.

Daniel, Tom and I had some good times on draft days in the past.

I am missing Daniel as well as he is sick. Hope he feels better soon.

Hope i don't humiliate myself going it alone-p

sly eye smile

I love Janet Galardi Popper's line about Tom's sly eye smile.  I think this photo shows off those eyes.

Memorial Announcement

Get the most from this blog

Be sure to check all the comments sections, especially under the contribute your thoughts and comments post, for full blog experience.

Feel free to post new section, since they are more visible.

Get Tom's friends involved- forward this blog.

Thanks for participating- M&P

San Blas Pics

Keep the posts and comments coming

It is so nice to hear from Tom's Ann Arbor friends !

One of the beauties of this blog is hearing from people we normally would not have connected with. Not sure I know Jean, but i love hearing form Karen, Steve and Janet!

Thanks Paula

a numbers game

Tom could always be seen as "one of a kind". An early tip-off was at the age of 5, before he could write numbers, he somehow, more or less on his own, learned to double numbers into the millions.

I took Tom to the opening of a Bendix research facility near the U of M North campus. The tour featured their new main Frame computer, that as a demonstration, doubled numbers starting with one for thirty days. In what seemed like a second or two, the number had risen to over 30 million. On the drive home, I asked Tom if he was impressed with the speed of the calculation. He was unimpressed saying he could run faster than the computer. I countered by pointing out that it was the speed of the calculation that I referred to and he quickly said he could do the same thing.

He started out with 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128. 256, 512, 1024, 2048, with alacrity. By the time he was up to 131072, I was getting hard-pressed to verify his answers and began figuring how he was doing it and I began to catch on to his system. he was very animated about going on and continued at home.. At bedtime I promised to remember his last number, 4194304, and would let him go on in the morning. I did and he continued until he reached somewhere in the 30 million range.

Along with tree climbing and courting danger, Tom had been interested in big numbers and I had introduced him to tens, hundreds, thousands, tens and hundreds of thousands and millions and billions with little expectations that it had stuck. I was amazed that he came to that skill without having been taught either addition or multiplication. Whether right or wrong, I chose not to focus on this aspect of his capabilities and stressed overall social, athletic, and educational interests.

Some comments that have been left that I'm afraid people won't see

From Karen Lu on March 26
1971 or was it 72? it was a warm ann arbor evening. tom and I out, not doing much, just listening to the radio. then Otis came on. tom joined and I still remember him singing "sittin on the dock of a bay" to me. It touched then and still resonates almost 40 years later.

From Jean Morgan Compton on March 27:
Tom and I were friends in high school~the same class. We also both went to UofM. We got together for a date, 72-ish. He picked me up in a (did he have a red MG?)He took me to the AA Experimental Film Festival at the old art/arch building on Main campus. Pat Olesko performed that night. Then we went for a few beers at the Del Rio. It was a wonderful evening and I'll always remember enjoying Tom's company. That was the last time I saw Tom. Almost 40 years later and I always wondered what happened to him. You never forget Tom.
I'm Jean Morgan Compton; some of you might know me better as the sister to my more famous musician brother, Scott. But, Tom and I were classmates. Lots of fun memories from HS as well. Nice to see pics and hear his voice. Still in MI. Wish I could be there for the Memorial but have an oldest daughter graduating from EMU. Best, Jean

From Betty Leach (Lu) on March 26:
I hadn't remembered the surf board and black room until I read this. What I remember is the drum set in his room. I also remember one night we girls, Theresa, Martha and I, were hanging around in Martha's room and Tom came in just after taking a shower, with only a towel wrapped around him. He started telling us about when he was skiing and, of course, being very animated, right when he "jumped down the hill" his towel fell off. We all giggled and thought it was so cute and funny. I think he was in 8th grade.

From Lisa Anderson on March 26:
When Tom first became interested in surfing I decided that I would save up my money and buy him a surf board. I remember writing a letter to Grammy telling her that I was going to save up all my money until I could buy Tom a surf board. I think I was going for $100. She sent me money towards my goal. I can't remember if I ever managed to get the funds but I remember that I wanted to do this for him. This was clearly before he started tormenting me every morning I must have been around 10.

Mexico Day 2 San Blas

We had left the accident scene feeling a little like we should have left something there. On our way to San Blas, we stopped to gather sticks to make a cross. There on no sticks at all on the beaches. I think they just use everything. Dogs chase empty water bottles.

On arrival we had lunch at Alicia's Restaurant in honor of our and Tom's dear, and long time friend Alicia.

We made the cross here on the beach that Tom was so happy on.

More San Blas pics to follow- p

Mexico day two- leaving Sayulita

We wanted to go to San Blas where Tom had been so happy. On the way out of Sayulita

We stopped to inquire about where Tom's car had been broken down.
This is where the car spent the week.
We set off for San Blas with Tommy on our Dash. We thought it was 70 kilameters.

It was 70 miles, and a lot off the main road. 30 years ago Lisa had been to San Blas with my parents and our brother Steve. That time they encountered a caravan of RV's. So did we.

Paul did an incredible job of passing them all and getting us to San Blas. I was very grateful that Paul came and that he did all the driving. Anyway a little after he had managed to pass them all, Daniel said he had to pee, Paul said NO! I am not letting them pass me again. Well we got enough ahead and under threat of being left behind, Daniel was able to relieve himself. Pics from San Blas next- p

Sayulita day 2 continued

Lisa had the idea to light a candle for him in the church.So we gathered supplies and returned.

It felt like we were leaving him there.

Grundoon

A little known early knick name our mother used to call Tom.

A character form Pogo comic srtrip. A baby that spoke gibberish.

I think he got the name cause they both like to bite people.

Perhaps Dad can confirm?

First Impression

My first impression of Tom is when I was about 11 years old and first met Paula. Tom coming in her room and giving her a ration of words and actions, similar to pounding calimari on the cutting board, about I don't know what really, but he meant every word. In no time at all he would be gone, only to return later to give another thrashing or maybe a hug. Just never knew what to expect...and then once he came over to me and put his arm around me, gave me a hug, some advice, and was off........I remember being terrified!!!
Another old memory.....He was working on his motorcycle one day at the house in Ann Arbor and was so frustrated with it he was screaming..."OH GOD! OH GOD! HELP ME! HELP ME!" over and over again.....and so shortly thereafter the police arrived to the crime scene.
Marty

Mexico day two

We woke up in the morning wanting to experience Sayulita more and wanting to go to San Blas, that Tom had loved so much. We had had an appointment with the DA this day, Sunday, but it was changed, so we had the day free to explore.

Woody and Daniel were anxious to get in the ocean and ride the waves.

Lisa and I walked around town and met this fellow that had met Tom and did an excellent impression of the first time he saw Tom, cursing and stomping cause his motor bike was not working.More on day two soon...

Carla's memories of her father

Carla Battles, Tom's daughter said...

I remember being so young and small and Papa being so tall and big. When he lifted me up in his arms or on his shoulders- I felt like a giant, like I was riding a wild animal. I remember his explosive, percussive voice, sometimes a low hum. I do not remember all of the words he spoke. I do remember many great ideas, many theories about life, people, his clever mind, curious mind, observant mind. David and I saw Papa most of our childhood, Thursdays or Tuesdays and weekend days. We took a couple trips to Hawaii and Mexico- and of course Disneyland and Great America. Also a few camping trips. Our weekly time we spent lots of time driving. Squished in his car, stopping here, stopping there, meeting this person, meeting that person. He always wanted us to meet people and for them to meet us. We went to the beach for sunset a lot and watched a lot of movies. We ate out almost every meal- McDonalds, Sushi, Burritos, and pizza, except for the couple times I can remember him cooking spaghetti and pesto. We would go boogie boarding on the weekends, I would ride on his back for the big waves-which were most. I remember his laugh, the weight of his on our shoulders, the feeling of being in his presence and not knowing which way he was going to turn, we were going to turn. Like being on his back, a wild animal, sometimes slow, mostly fast, always surprising. Like Life.

March 25, 2010 8:36 PM

Sayulita pics

Helping Paula become a tree

here is Tom - helping Paula become a tree for Halloween 2007. He never dressed up but he always came by to help out

Day one in Mexico continued

So, we set off to spend the night in Sayulita, 30 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta.

This is where Tom spent his last week.

We knew the accident site was just south of Sayulita,

so we would pass it first. It was in the tiny town of San Ignacio. We pulled of and spoke

to a store owner. We had pulled of directly accross the street from the fated spot.

The store owner had sold Tom a coke the day before. We spoke to him and another woman and got some info, though neither were actual witnesses. Once again it was great to have Woody

translating.

It was pretty overwhelming to be standing there.

We headed down the road to Sayulita. We passed where we thought he had arranged to park his car. We parked and walked around and looked for a place to stay. A bit dazed from our day so far. It was spring break, and a mexican holiday so we had a hard time, but did find a place.

pictures of Sayulita to follow- p

Tom

Tom Weher, to Theresa and Marty Bush, was Martha and Paula's brother. He was always around. Whenever there is a picture of Bob Dylan, Tom comes to mind. He had a way of looking at things from a different propective than anyone else and helped to make our experience at their house an intellectual twist that would make you look at life in a different way. Tom had a surf board in his room back in Ann Arbor Mi. ....That it so cool; it was always great to be there, California dreaming in his black psychodelic bedroom....where you could be living the life, if only in your dreams. A surfboard in Ann Arbor Mi!!! We would stand on it and pretend we were surfin Woo Hoo!!! Tom, we miss you! and are blessed to have had you in our lives.

Father and Daughter making music

This warms my heart. Tom and Carla playing music together.

The Philosophy of Stealing

Heres a video I had of Tom taken in 2009 where he explains what goes through his mind when he sees an unattended object that belongs to somebody else. Somehow he tied in the evolution of man and John Lennon!! He sure could talk his way around anything

Tom as a younger man

Here's a photo of Tom from 1974. I sure do miss him.

let me know if you have problems posting

It has come to my attention that some people have problems posting text and or pictures to the blog as authors. I can edit posts and have been able to fix some issues.  Please just post what you want - if it doesn't look great - maybe I can fix it. I think we are in this for stories and photos - maybe layout and graphic design will be compromised- who cares.

It is all about our memories of Tom- somehow the fact that he tried to hog the heater when we were growing up comes to mind - we would all fight for position on a 24 in by 24 in heat vent in the living room before breakfast.

A handsome man and his beautiful fiance

It was really fun traveling to Ireland for Tom's wedding to Moire. This picture was kind of an engagement photo - before the wedding. before the hair loss. I love his smile, his eyes and all those experiences etched on his face. And, Moire, you are beautiful too. Taken in 2003

Mexico
Tom's sisters Paula (me) Lisa, Lisa's husband Paul, and Tom's nephews Daniel and Woody, went to Mexico to be where Tom had been. and to sort things out. We were there just 4 days but it seemed like weeks. A lot happened, in an effort to get something posted, and make it easier to read, i will break it into daily reports.

 We got off the plane around 3pm Saturday March 13, in Puerto Vallarta and found that the airport and the Hertz rental car (our first stop) were on the 200. The 200 is the 2 lane highway where the accident took place. So we felt we had landed right in the thick of it. Here is a picture somewhere on the 200.

We went straight to the funeral home. We got his ashes. We were surprised to also get the contents of his pockets. We thought the DA had all his belongings. It was very touching to see the contents spill out of a bag. Especially the crumpled papers and his harmonica. Tom's nephew Woodrow is fluent in Spanish. It was great to have him along and to watch him confidently converse

with everyone everywhere we went. He also was able to translate all the documents we encountered. He learned just where the accident happened and off we went.

I have to run- watch for the conclusion of day one soon- p

another excerpt - from san blas

I seriously spent the bulk of my day in tearful disbelief of the sweetness and openness and the unbounded and unqualified love that all of these people shower upon each other, especially the beautifully innocent children, and of course, Tommy Tsunami.

I also had my best day surfing, though I had to paddle a half-mile out to get to it.

I staged a one-man parade through town and all the way up and down the beach on my emaculate motor-bike, to rave reviews....bye now



this is a previous motorized bike he had

An excerpt from an email he sent from Mazatlan

I had 20 flat tires, 5 ruined wheels, and a dubiously glued-together radiator on my dubiously-chosen route,. which included la espinoza del diablo (the devils backbone, featured online as one of the 19 most complex and dangerous roads in the world)

that was nothing compared to the dirt road between creel and batopilas in the copper canyon, which I only took at the behest of a truly demented travel blogger..........the last time I will ever follow e-advice(for a week or two anyway)


everybody here drives like me (I mean it is one thing when just a few lunatics do it but this is insane)

As long as I keep my hands covered with grease and dirt, all the natives love me (except the women of course)

oh well, you cant have everything

Harmonica man

He loved playing Alfie

Contribute your thoughts and pictures

Anyone can comment on the posts here but if you want to add your own post you have to be signed up as an author. To do that please email  me at mb@marthabruce.com and I will add you as an author - I need your email address to do that.

Memorial service for Tom Wehrer

We have scheduled a memorial service for Tom Wehrer on Sunday, April 18. Check back for more specific details about exact time and location.