Thomas H. Nikkel

I still have a hard time with the fact that it's been 12 years since you've gone. And harder still is trying to keep our friendship in some sort of realistic timeline based on my memories. They're fragile, and time chips away at them with no rhyme or reason. But they're plentiful, so I'm no too worried. I miss you Brother!

You´re back in my thoughts this morning, as I long for your take on the world as it stands today. Over a bottomless cup of Joe at Bilfred´s we would have smoked (Yeah I know!), listened to some tunes on the jukebox, and enjoyed those moments of silence honed comfortable by years of friendship. I miss you dearly Tom!

Time is a strange thing. Though you've been gone for ten years now, there are times when it feels like an eternity, and times when it feels like the briefest of moments. What remains constant within that paradox though is just how much I miss you.

You come into my thoughts at the strangest times. Just recently I walked through Woolsey Hall for the first time in many years, and there you were hiding behind a column as I writhed on the floor performing my patented "Oh No Fit," in the center of the rotunda amid a rather large crowd. You were supposed to rescue me, but you had other plans. I glimpsed that wonderful mischievous smile of yours as you turned the joke back on me. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way! I miss you brother.

What I realized I have come to miss the most about you is how we communicated. Yes, we could talk on the phone when we no longer lived close to each other, but we preferred letters. There are days I still expect to find one in my mail box. I miss you deeply brother.

Hard to believe another year has passed since you left us, but your impact lives on. I still read the letters you sent me when, because we both liked writing, we communicated this way rather than on the phone. I miss you dearly Tom.

Six years, and I miss you still. You pop into my head at the oddest times, and I really enjoy when I dream of you. But none of that can replace your physical company - Love you Bro.

Between knowing Tom and Frank 'fosh' his obvious best friend I had all the intellectual areas covered.These two knew everything. And with style.Ive been out of touch with Tom for a long time now but my memories continue.The world will miss you Tom. I sure do.
My best wishes to all that knew him.
John Cushen

Rest in peace Tom the Pesapane brothers carmine and mike