In Memory of Tom
He believed the future could be brighter
Tom spent his career solving problems as an engineer. He believed that with enough curiosity, determination, and hard work, almost anything could be improved.
That belief never left him.
In 2020, Tom was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Rather than lose hope, he chose to participate in a Phase I clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He understood something remarkable: the treatment might not help him. But what researchers learned from him could help someone else's family. One day, he simply said:
"Maybe they'll learn a lot more from me than someone less healthy."
That sentence captures who Tom was. Even while facing his own illness, he was thinking about the future of people he would never meet. The trial didn't give Tom the outcome he and his family had hoped for, and he returned to conventional chemotherapy afterward. But the choice to try it — to give researchers a chance to learn, regardless of what it meant for himself — never stopped being the right one in his eyes.
He Loved Life's Ordinary Moments
Some of our favorite memories of Tom weren't made crossing marathon finish lines.
They were made around a backyard grill. Watching Eagles games. Laughing with family. Spending time with his wife, Mahy, and daughters Jesse and Kara. Summer vacations. Christmas Eve traditions. Quiet conversations that somehow became unforgettable memories.
Tom was a Jersey kid, born and raised in South Jersey, and a Springsteen fan since high school — Bruce was, in every real sense, the soundtrack to Tom's life. He saw Bruce live nearly 100 times. One of the family's favorite memories is from a show where Bruce brought his own mother, Adele, on stage to dance during “Dancing in the Dark” — the iconic moment, witnessed live by Tom and his sister Mary from the crowd, just a few feet away.
Tom understood something that is easy to forget — life isn't measured only by milestones. It's measured by ordinary moments shared with the people we love.
Tom's Village
Tom never walked his journey alone.
His family, friends, and an extraordinary team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center walked beside him every step of the way — the physicians, the nurses, the research coordinators, the scientists. They became part of our family's village.
Tom believed deeply in the people behind the science. So do we.
Tom passed away in January 2023 — on the eighteenth anniversary of our mother's passing. He had been her favorite from the day he was born. With identical twin sisters and an older brother ahead of him, she used to say that by the time Tom came along, she finally had a baby all to herself. Eighteen years later, on the same day, they were together again.
Tom's Legacy
Strong Like Tom began as a race. Today, it is something much more. It is our family's promise that Tom's generosity, optimism, and belief in science will continue creating hope for other families.
Every runner. Every volunteer. Every donor. Every sponsor. Helps continue the work Tom believed in — not simply to extend life, but to give people more life to live. More birthdays. More backyard barbecues. More graduations. More ordinary moments that become cherished memories.
That is the legacy Tom left us. And it is the legacy we are committed to building. Because Tom believed the future could be better.
We do too.
