A memorial service has been set to celebrate the life of longtime local Tom Anderson.
Tom Anderson had just been named as an inductee to the Aspen Hall of Fame a few weeks before he passed away after a multi-year battle with leukemia. He died Friday with his family around him, including his brother, Gregg, who earned the hall of a fame honor alongside him. The retired chaplain at the Aspen Chapel says he joked with Tom just the other day about their newfound fame. They shared not only the same type of sarcastic humor but a brotherly love that can’t be denied.
“I said you know, they are doing this together because they are treating us as one. neither of us are good enough to be awarded this by ourselves but we each offer a half and it added up to a whole. I think we have the deepest respect for each other. It would be one thing to have this honor to be the in hall of fame but to it with my brother that meant a great deal, a great deal ... my big brother," Gregg says.
Tom for decades volunteered for the World Cup races and served as the chief of race for many years. He also was heavily involved in the formation and development of the Aspen Valley Ski Club. He owned the popular local ski shop Pomeroy Sports for more than three decades; he closed it in 2013.
Gregg followed his big brother to Aspen from Minnesota in 1972 after Tom decided to make this his home after years of vacationing here with their parents. Tom was known as a dedicated family man, building a life here with his two daughters Debbie and Jill, and his wife, Janny. He is also survived by four grandchildren.
“I still follow him. He always went down the mountain first. and I would always try to follow him and try to see if I could ski like him and he has just been a real exemplar for my life," Gregg says.
Gregg got engaged during a Thanksgiving dinner at Tom’s house about 10 years ago but hadn’t until this year sealed the deal. When Tom was re-diagnosed with leukemia in January, the two of them made a pact.
“I saw him the next day in the hospital room. He said to me when I came into the hospital room, ‘I want you to do my memorial service’ and then I said ‘well I’ll do that if you do my wedding service so that was expedited on Easter on top of the mountain which he led. Now he did his turn and now it’s my turn," he says.
The service will be held on top of Aspen Mountain on Friday at 3 p.m. Gondola loading begins at 2 p.m. The public is welcome. Carolyn Sackariason, Aspen Public Radio news.
