Papa Tom’s keys to a legacy of love at John Carroll High School

IT DROVE HIM CRAZY. IF SOMEBODY LEFT A MESS BECAUSE HE ALWAYS, AS HE SAID, HE ALWAYS WANTED TO REPRESENT THE SCHOOL. A BELOVED JOHN CARROLL HIGH SCHOOL JANITOR LEFT A LASTING MARK ON ALL THOSE WHO KNEW HIM. TOM MARKS CALLED PAPA TOM BY STUDENTS AND STAFF, DIED UNEXPECTEDLY IN SEPTEMBER. HE WAS A 1960 GRADUATE OF THE SCHOOL AND FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS SERVED AS THEIR MAINTENANCE MAN. WVTM 13, BRITTANY DECKER SHARES WITH US HIS KEY TO A LASTING LEGACY, THE UNMISTAKABLE JINGLE OF PAPA TOM’S KEYS NO LONGER FILLS THE HALLS. YOU COULD ALWAYS HEAR HIM FROM A MILE AWAY IN THE HALLS BECAUSE OF HIS KEYS. HE WOULD JINGLE, JANGLE DOWN THE HALLWAY. THOSE KEYS UNLOCKED SPACES. YES, I COME EARLY EVERY MORNING, AND HE USED TO OPEN THE DOORS FOR ME THAT MONDAY THAT WE GOT BACK AFTER HE HAD HAD HIS STROKE. HE WOULD ALWAYS COME THROUGH AND UNLOCK ALL OF THE LADIES DOORS. THAT’S THE FIRST TIME THAT WE HAD TO UNLOCK OUR OWN DOOR BECAUSE. BECAUSE PAPA TOM WASN’T HERE TO DO IT. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, HIS PRESENCE OPENED HEARTS. PAPA TOM WAS ALWAYS SMILING, EVEN IF HE WAS DOING LIKE THE MOST EGREGIOUS WORK EVER. THERE WASN’T A SINGLE PERSON IN THE SCHOOL THAT HE DIDN’T TALK TO. HIS WORK AS THE MAINTENANCE MAN LESS ABOUT CLEANING AND MORE ABOUT CONNECTING. HE HAD SUCH AN IMPACT. HE WAS A JOYFUL PERSON EVERY DAY AND FUNNY, GIVING NICKNAMES TO SHOW EACH AND EVERY PERSON HE CARED. IT WAS AWESOME BECAUSE HE HAD ONE FOR EVERYBODY. SO HE CALLED ME NEWBIE BECAUSE WE WERE NEWBIES TOGETHER, SO IT WAS MORE LIKE, NEWBIE. YOU SEE, PAPA TOM DIDN’T NEED A GRAND TITLE TO MAKE A MONUMENTAL IMPACT. HE WAS A PART OF THE FABRIC OF THIS PLACE. JOHN CARROLL, CLASS OF 1960. THE PHOTO OF HE AND THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE STILL HANGS IN THE HALL. TOM AND I, WE WENT TO JOHN CARROLL AND THAT’S WHERE WE MET. WE WERE 16 YEARS OLD. WE WENT OUT TO A DANCE THE FIRST FIRST DATE WE EVER HAD. SO I WAS DRESSED UP IN THE RUFFLES AND EVERYTHING AND HE WAS DRESSED UP IN HIS SUIT, AND IT WAS A SLOW DANCE AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? AND I SAID, WHAT HE SAID, I’M GOING TO MARRY YOU ONE DAY. AND I SAID, OH, YOU ARE FOUR CHILDREN LATER. AND ALL JOHN CARROLL GRADUATES, INCLUDING HIS DAUGHTER CHRISTY MARX BRADFORD, THESE STUDENTS KEPT TELLING A STORY AFTER STORY AFTER STORY OF MY DAD AND JUST LITTLE THINGS THAT HE DID JUST IN HIS EVERYDAY LIFE, THAT INFLUENCED THEM. WE WANT TO DO THE SMALL THINGS RIGHT, THE WAY PAPA TOM DID FOR PAPA TOM’S FINAL GOODBYE. A VIRTUAL DAY WAS HELD FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, PROBABLY ABOUT 150 STUDENTS WHO CAME TO THE FUNERAL, INCLUDING MANY GRADUATES, ONE WHO MADE THIS, SHE PUT A SLOT IN THE TOP SO THAT PEOPLE COULD WRITE DOWN THEIR MEMORIES AND THEIR PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR HIS FAMILY. I’VE READ ALL THE CARDS THAT THEY GAVE US, AND IT KIND OF BRINGS TOM CLOSER TO ME FOR THEM TO BE PRAYING FOR ME AND FOR MY FAMILY. THEY WILL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH THAT MEANS TO ME IN THE BUSY DAY, SINCE A VOID REMAINS AT JOHN CARROLL, THAT CAN’T BE FILLED, HIS LUNCHROOM SEAT SITS OPEN, HIS PRESENCE STILL FELT HAVING HIM SIT HERE STILL IS LIKE HIM. HE’S PRESENT WITH US STILL, MUCH LIKE THE MARK HE LEFT ON. EVERYTHING HE TOUCHED FROM HIS MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT TO THE LIVES OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. PAPA TOM’S NAME IS EVERLASTING. I WAS REALLY JUST LIKE GOING THROUGH A LOT, AND I FELT LIKE HE WAS THAT LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS. PAPA TOM, AS HE WAS AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN, HIS LIGHT HONORED IN THE FLAME LIT HOMECOMING, WILL ALWAYS SHINE AT JOHN CARROLL. SOMETIMES PEOPLE TRY TO MAKE A BIG IMPACT, LIKE HUGE GLOBAL IMPACT, BUT HE JUST SHOWS THAT EVERY DAY YOU CAN MAKE A SMALL IMPACT WHERE YOU ARE. ONE THING THAT I LEARNED FROM HIM IS THAT, LIKE, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS TAKE CARE OF YOUR COMMUNITY FROM STUDENT TO HUSBAND, FATHER AND MENTOR, PAPA TOM HAS UNLOCKED A LEGACY THAT’S LIVE IN THE PAPA TOM LEGACY IS MAKING EVERYBODY FEEL IMPORTANT. HIS KEYS MAY NO LONGER JINGLE, BUT THE DOORS HE OPENED WILL NEVER CLOSE. BRITTA