This page is about my very special brother Thomas Roland DesRochers. Tom passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on January 24th, 1999 of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). He was only 39 years old.

Tom was one of the most amazing people I've had the good luck to have known. He was a wonderful 'big brother' growing up and luckily we never lived more than 10 minutes apart for most of our adult years. What made Tom stand apart from the masses was his incredible sense of fairness, decency and modesty. Tom was brilliant, yet never arrogant. He never judged anyone and was always open to the opinions of others. He has taught me to strive to be a better person. Tom touched so many lives in the short time he was with us. I feel priviledged to have had him as such a big part of my life.


Growing up, Tom always dreamed of someday becoming a police officer. He practiced many 'law enforcement' techniques on Michel and I, particularly during our teen years. We certainly couldn't get into too much trouble without Tom's intervention...no doubt a really good thing! In 1981 Tom achieved his longtime dream when he graduated from the Ontario Police College and began working with York Regional Police Service. He spent 18 years working for the force, first in uniform, later as a detective. Tom was also seconded to a Joint Forces Project to uncover municipal corruption for 3 years.

Because of the shift work involved in policing, Tom was unable to attend university in a conventional sense. Instead, he completed his Bachelor of Arts in History almost entirely by correspondence....something that requires a tremendous amount of self-discipline. Tom didn't stop there....on June 12th, 1998, he graduated from Osgoode Law School, Toronto, Ontario. He managed to continue working for the police force throughout his three years of law school! We were so in awe of his stamina and determination.

In December of 1998, Tom wrote and passed his Bar exams. Sadly, he was ill during this time with a chest cold that just wouldn't seem to go away. On January 15th, he went to his doctor and was sent for chest x-rays. He was immediately admitted to hospital with a condition called pleural effusion. Six days later Tom was diagnosed with AML and was transferred to a hospital in Toronto that specializes in oncology. Five days later, we lost our dear, wonderful Tom. It still isn't 'real' to us...and we are so very devastated by all that happened....but time is beginning to heal. Having Tom at all was to me, a miracle....he was so special. I'm sure some greater power thought so too, and decided he was more needed elsewhere...he has left footprints on our hearts that will last forever and for that I'm grateful.


More about Tom...




  

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