Tom Whittemore

[Eric Scoles]

Tom Whittemore passed away in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. He'd been sick for a long time, getting sicker, mostly as complications of his diabetes. We haven't had a message to the group about this; the news has been passing around since very early yesterday, but I wanted to make sure everyone in the group heard. 

For those who didn't know him, Tom was a founding board member of R-SPEC, and an old D-309er from way back. A lot of us knew Tom, some of us very well; I can't count myself in the latter category, but I liked and respected him very much. When I first met him through R-SPEC, he struck me quickly as a person of keen insight, and nowhere more so than where story structure is concerned. And he could be blunt, but was seldom rude. Anyone who's had him read their work has probably heard him say something like, "that's a really nice scene but it serves absolutely no purpose there. I think you should cut it." And he'd usually be right. In our writing group, we started recording our stories for his benefit (for some time, his vision has been prohibitively poor for long form reading), and we all found the exercise useful as it forced us to hear the work in new ways. 

Someone will post a note here & on Facebook when we know more about his memorial service, which will probably be this weekend, possibly at Alex White's shop on Monroe Avenue ('Boldo's Armory'), near the loop. 

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eric scoles | erics...@gmail.com

[Pat Rapp]

Thanks for the quote, Eric -- I could actually hear Tom's voice when I read that.
: )

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eric scoles | erics...@gmail.com

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Pat Rapp

[nank...@aol.com]

I knew Tom for a very long time, from when he was first a student in a writing workshop of mine, young and healthy.  He could be very funny.  I remember at some party, after he'd had a few drinks, he said to me, "I've been reading your writing, Nancy."  (There wasn't very much of it at this point!)  He said, "You're good, but why are your stories so damn grim?"  It became a joke between us ("There she is, the Grim One") for, literally, decades.  Eric is right; he was one of the best critiquers I have ever met.  Tom was both a sociable person and an intensely private one.  He's the first of our Rochester SF group to die, and he will be missed.  I wish I could attend the wake. 
Nancy

[Sally Caves]

I'm so very very sorry to hear this.  Thank you, Eric, for letting us know.

Sarah

On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 8:40 AM, Eric Scoles <erics...@gmail.com> wrote:

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eric scoles | erics...@gmail.com

[David Ennocenti]

This is really sad. It seems so unfair the way things happen. I lost my best friend to cancer two years ago today (February 9, 2012). He had a brain tumor. He was a health fanatic, constantly watching his diet, yet he developed cancer.

 

I hope the end was peaceful for Tom. I lost three friends in a 26 month period and they were in pain.

 

Thanks for letting us know Eric.

 

Dave Ennocenti

 

On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 8:40 AM, Eric Scoles <erics...@gmail.com> wrote:

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eric scoles | erics...@gmail.com

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David Ennocenti
9 West Crest Drive
Rochester, NY 14606
585-426-2348