Thomas Bracamonte

Thomas Bracamonte " The day will come when my body will lie upon a white sheet neatly tucked under four corners of a mattress located in a hospital busily occupied with living and the dying. At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and, for all practical purposes, my life has stopped. When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by use of a machine. And don't call this my "deathbed" call this my "Bed of Life" and let whatever is useable be taken from it to help others lead fuller lives. Give my sight to a man that has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman. Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain. Give my blood to a teenager who has been pulled from the wreckage of a car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play. Give my kidneys to one who depends on a machine to exist. Take my bones, every nerve and muscle in my body, and find a way to make a crippled child walk. Explore every corner of my brain. Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that someday a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain on her window. Take what is left and give to the winds to help the flowers grow. If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses and all the prejudice against my fellow men. Give my sins to the devil and Give my soul to GOD. If by chance, you wish to remember me do it with kind deeds or words to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever." Tom was born on August 24, 1949 in Shafter, Calif. He left this Earth on Jan. 20, 2008. His passing came as a blessing and released all the pain he had determinedly fought for four years. His earthly family held him while he made his final journey to a place beside his savior. Thanks Doug and Thanks Eddie for letting him know you would be at the end, waiting, to guide him home. Tom is survived by his wife and soul mate Billie, his two loving daughters Carrie and Jaimee, his "son" Damon, his seven grandchildren, Kade, Hayley, Trey, Dominic, D'Andre, Isabella, and LaDainian. His mother and father Philip and Dee Bracamonte, His brother David and wife Celeste Bracamonte, his sister Mary and husband Jerry Harris ,his mother and father in law Dorothy and Jack Church as well as many friends and family that truly loved him. A viewing for family and friends will be held Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008 from 4-8 p.m. at Summers Funeral Homes, Ustick Chapel. A graveside service will be held Friday, Jan. 25, 2008 at 1 p.m. at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Summers Funeral Homes, Ustick Chapel. In lieu of flowers we ask that you donate money to the Tom Bracamonte memorial fund at Washington Mutual. All money will be donated to the MSTI center for cancer research on his behalf.