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Tom
Salva
November 4, 1947 - December 1978 |
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Memories of Tom Salva |
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by Ken Willaman |
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Tom Salva was my best friend from the ninth
grade at New River Junior High, through high
school and into our college years. I had
learned so much about being a friend from
him, and he never ceased being
the charismatic personality in all of those
years we were buds. I admired him for his
personal confidence, as it seemed he was
never in any situation he couldn't handle.
He was always on top of everything.
Second, he was the ultimate people person,
and probably the best dancer on any floor I
had seen then or since. He was the master
of the "mashed potatoes" in '62 at the War
and the Legion. He was the only person
there who could stop everyone else from
dancing, head for the sidelines and watch.
Sometimes I think we used to get courage
from each other, as over the years
we crashed parties, got into restaurants and
clubs, got out of a lot of situations, both
laughing our tails off. Even into college,
I knew he was coming to my place, just from
the noise.
In addition he taught me to be generous to
be more considerate toward other people as
it seemed that the more he seem to give of
himself, the more friends he had all over
the place. If there is a perfect term for
extrovert but sincere personality, it is Tom
Salva. He was taken from us way too soon
and in a tragic manner, but I will never
forget him for the rest of my life.
Submitted
by Ken Willaman
7/31/07 |
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Memories of Tom Salva
by Kim Little, Class of 1966 |
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Tom was a
good friend and an inspiration to me through school.
Tom, his dad and the Mai Kai girls were a constant
source of stories and fun. Tom always had an interesting
POV and perspective. That POV and sense of humor made
him fun to be around. He always had a way to pick you up
and pick the crowd up. And, he always managed to talk me
into doing crazy things that I never would have done on
my own. His zany courage was contagious. Tom was also a
friend when I needed one. He saw me through some rough
times in my life. I could never thank him enough for
that. He is missed but not forgotten.
Submitted
by Kim Little 4/4/09
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Memories of Tom Salva
by Robert Warneck |
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I just wanted to comment of the death
of Tom Salva, He was taken from us way too early. People
will say there's a reason for everything, but I find
myself wondering what that reason is. As I look through
this web site and see the faces of people that I enjoyed
having fun with and talking to, I wish now that I would
have stayed in touch better than I did. Life is a
journey that takes us to different places and after we
graduated from Stranahan in 1965, we had two choices.
Try to stay in college or get drafted to serve in the
military. I'm sure that many of our dragons lost their
lives in Viet Nam, but Tommy was one of the lucky ones.
He actually made it through college. I wish I could have
been there to prod him along.
I can't remember exactly how we became friends but I'm
pretty sure it was through bowling. Everything that
Tommy tried, he was good enough to become a pro. Kim and
Ken were close friends with Tom and as we reminisced, we
almost did the same things. We all went to The Armory
and danced, not as good as Tommy, but we tried. Somehow,
we were with Tommy to pick up his dad at the Mai Kai
late at night. That's how we got to use the car. Drive
his dad to work and than we had wheels for the night.
Somehow we never got in each other's way. It was always
Tommy driving and one of us in the back seat waiting
until we dropped his dad off at work. If more people
knew how pretty those Mai Kai dancers were, there would
have been a waiting line at Tommy's house every night.
Tom always took the time to help you with your bowling
or your dancing or whatever you needed to improve. One
night he told his Dad that he was staying at my house
overnight and I told my mom I was staying over at
Tommy's and off we went. We let his dad have his car
that night. Off to the Armory for the dance, then to the
beach over in the parking lot north of the Yankee
Clipper and then up and down the strip. We spent the
whole night out just driving around together. Saturday
morning around 4 am., we ended up at Dolphin Lanes in
Lauderhill where we bowled in a league. We played pool
until we couldn't stand up and slept under the pool
tables. Around 7 am. we helped clean the lanes and ran
the machine that oiled the lanes for our bowling league.
Tommy bowled a 710 for 3 games which is an average of
237 and I had a rare 600 set. Not bad for two hours
sleep.
After graduation, we went in different directions, I
tried the college thing but wasn't really into it. So
off to the military for four years. Getting married and
raising a family is another thing that gets in the way
of friendship. I never took the time to see if Tommy was
around. I didn't know exactly how Tommy passed until I
joined Face book of all things and Ken Willaman, one of
Tommy's friends that prodded him through college saw my
page. I always assumed that Tommy was a Viet Nam
causality. Thank goodness he wasn't. He graduated from
college and enjoyed life until he was 31. Still not long
enough, for such a special person and friend.
Submitted
by Robert C. Warneck 10/23/09
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