Thomas F. Hughes

At long last I post my own farewell to my good friend, Tom Hughes, on this site. The months which have passed since his death in April have served only to confirm what I and so many others expected: that it will take some time to fill the hole he left behind in the lives of many people.

On the other hand, the pain of feeling his absence only confirms the joy which he gave through his presence. And I, for one, am glad to pay that price. The longer we have something we treasure, the...

I first met Dad when I was 4 years old. He and my Mother met, fell in love and were married. As Dad described it, it was sort of a package deal, two, instead of the usual one.

The wedding was in Florida and I flew with Dad’s parents, Mud and Gandy, to their house in New York to wait while Mom and Dad had their honeymoon drive back up north. They collected me after a few days and we went on to Greens Farms and the big old house where Dad was living. At that time Machamux belonged to...

PLEASE NOTE:
THIS GUEST BOOK WILL BE ONLINE FOR A YEAR! IT HAS BEEN SPONSORED BY THE FAMILY, WHO LIKES TO SAVE THINGS, AND YOU CAN ACCESS IT THROUGH SPEARMILLERFUNERALHOME.COM, SO PLEASE DO! IT IS VERY SPECIAL FOR US.

Laurie’s Eulogy

My father has always meant everything to me. There is certainly not time enough for me to enumerate the ways I have loved him, or he me. His love was like the water I swam in, never noticing or questioning it. I have been so used to knowing I am loved, that I don’t think I could make that feeling go away, even were he to die a thousand times. But among the lessons I have learned from a more than fifty-year association with this wonderful man, here are a...

Thomas Franklin Hughes

I first met my husband Tim, at Tom’s house, Machamux, at a birthday party for Laurie. Tim came down, from Glastonbury, where he was serving as Youth Ministry Director at Buckingham Congregational Church, after running a junior high retreat at Silver Lake Conference Center. Tim was weary, and Tom was in rare form. It was a guitar, drum and song-fest, the first of many that I would find Tom joining in the choruses or last lines of songs of….. and chiming in...

Dear Laurie, Tim and Beth--I truly love your Dad! What a special man. I loved 5:00 at Machamux. I loved how Tom could talk with anyone of any age about any topic. I ran in to him a couple of months ago in Westport and was so happy to see him and I gave him a huge hug. I'll never forget him or the fun times in Green's Farms.
Love,
Suzie Ford

To the dearest friends and family of Uncle Tom: I hope this poem brings you some peace.

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep (Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004)
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not here; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft...

"When Great Trees Fall"from Maya Angelou's book called "Celebrations, Rituals of Peace and Prayer". I hope you find this joyful and peaceful as I did.

When Great Trees Fall

When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses, and even elephants
lumber after safety.

When great trees fall,
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
theis senses
eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,
the air around...

To Tom's family and many friends -
We miss your wit and wisdom at The Driftwood in the morning, but there is comfort in knowing that heaven will never be the same.
In deepest sympathy,
Ann and Jack Franzen