From Liz Jackson

I often think about Tom. About 10 years ago I decided to call Tom. It was so nice to catch up with him. I called again a few years later. Yesterday, I decided that maybe I should try googling Tom’s name because I was thinking about him again. I was shocked and saddened to learn of his passing. My heart goes out to all of his family.

I want to share one of my favorite stories about Tom. The week before the Christmas of 1975, Tom and I went skiing in Aspen. We set out about 9 pm hitchhiking from Ann Arbor with all of Tom’s ski equipment. Of course it was pitch black and one of the coldest days of the season with a wind chill factor in the minus 20’s or worst. Was I worried? Not in the least. I was just happy to be with Tom who was the most intriguing, fun, gorgeous guy on the planet.

We lucked out and with just a few rides arrived in Aspen no problem. We stayed in a cabin with my sister Jo and her uptight boyfriend of the time. The boyfriend had the bright idea of turning the heat off in the cabin to save money. It was unbearably cold but Tom never seemed to mind because he was there to ski.

The first day there we went skiing and we probably each paid for a half-day ski lift pass. As always, the lift passes were really expensive but little did I know that Tom was already on a mission to eliminate that problem. (as I’m sure we all know, Tom was a master at beating the system).

As people waited in line for a chair lift, an employee used a hole punch on their lift tickets so they couldn’t be used more than once for that day (or something like that). Well, Tom swiped the hole punch right under the employee’s nose as soon he set it down for a second.

Later that day he bought some wire clippers from a hardware store and we went to the bus stop where people get rides back into town after a day of skiing. As people stepped off the bus, Tom would approach them and ask if he could have their used-up ski passes which were attached to their jacket zippers with a piece of wire. I’ll never forget one young woman backing away while wondering what the heck was going on as he gingerly snip it off with his handy dandy wire clippers.

That evening in the cabin Tom sat at a small table in living room and painstakingly punched holes (in just the right places) out of the used lift tickets he had collected and then use the little punched pieces to fill the punched holes in 2 used lift tickets. When Tom was finished we each had a lift ticket that looked brand new with no hole punches.

I was blown away. For the rest of the ski trip we never paid for another ski lift pass. A true testament to the creativity, ingenuity, and that wonderful, mischievious side … of the one and the only… Thomas Wehrer! By the way, Tom was so encouraging and helpful while I learned how to ski. And he was an incredible skier. Amazing to watch- a natural-born athlete, whatever sport he chose to do.

Just want to finish by adding that Tom was a gentle soul with tremendous compassionate for others, one of those rare free spirits on earth who lived in the here and now. But the most wonderful aspect of Tom was his endless sense of wonderment. I will always remember Tom.

Best wishes to you all from Liz Jackson