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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 2017)
Wednesday, September 6, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 23 Of a certain age By Sue Stafford Correspondent The eagle’s-eye view from the property is awe-inspiring. The energy of the surround- ings is healing for those who come seeking rest and solace. Tom’s Rest, located on a hill six miles east of Sisters, was created for that very purpose – to offer a place of respite from busy lives. With the untimely death of Tom Edwards at age 61, his wife, Cheryl, expanded its mis- sion to also providing a safe place for grieving hearts to share their losses and learn to integrate them into their lives going forward. Tom and Cheryl met dur- ing their junior year in high school in Michigan, when Tom cleaned the wind- shield of Cheryl’s car at the local service station where he worked every day after school. “I’ve never had such clean windows in my life,” Cheryl remembered with a smile. They married right out of high school at ages 18 and 19 and shared 42 years of life together, persevering through the lean early years, experi- encing the loss of a daughter and health concerns of one of their sons. “Tom always had the strength to go to the next thing,” Cheryl said. Tom’s mother had left him as a child with relatives, later marrying and raising another family. He was passed around among family members, often sleeping on dilapidated couches. In high school, he lived on the top floor of low- income housing in Detroit, surrounded by soot from the Ford Motor Company factory across the street. Cheryl never heard Tom complain about his difficult childhood. Despite being abandoned by his mother, at Christmas Tom would take gifts to her. He helped out her other family, providing rides for his half-brothers and doing special things like tak- ing them to the circus. In Tom’s heart, there wasn’t room for resentment. He was always interested in others and what he could do for them. Throughout their life together, Tom never tired of telling Cheryl, “I just want to make you happy.” On the dash of her car, Cheryl has a little figure of a man, with outstretched arms, that was on the shift of Tom’s first car. Tom always mim- icked the little man as he stretched out his arms, tell- ing Cheryl, “I love you this much.” Having been the first per- son in his family to gradu- ate from high school, Tom’s drive for a better life led him to enlist in the Air Force to help him get a college educa- tion. His time loading bombs on aircraft during the Viet Nam war years left him with partial hearing loss and ring- ing in his ears. Again, Cheryl never heard Tom complain, despite no help from the Veteran’s Administration for 30 years. “That’s who he was,” explained Cheryl. Right before Tom died, the VA had finally granted him disability benefits. Tom did get that college education, earning a master’s degree in engineering and another master’s in human resources. The Edwards came west to Sherwood, Oregon where they lived for 30 years while Tom worked for Daimler Trucks North America in Portland. “I came kicking and screaming,” admitted Cheryl. Once she saw the moun- tains and beaches, however, she was smitten. They hiked, biked, and kayaked. “We saw every inch of the state, most of it on our bikes,” Cheryl said. They participated in a cross-country bike ride from Seattle to Washington, D.C. to raise money for a charity supporting research into a blood-clotting disorder that Cheryl experienced. While cycling, they discovered the “Showers Program” where people along the route offer free showers, camping, DON’T MISS OUT on this week’s inserts in the Nugget: Bi-Mart: Keep the birds happy! 40-lb. Bags of 100% Black Oil Sunfl ower Seeds are 25% off ! Now $17.99 (regularly $23.99). Ray’s Food Place: The Fantastic Friday One-day Deal on Sept. 8 is Tide Liquid Laundry Detergent for $4.99 (46-50 oz., fi rst two). clothing, whatever they have to share. Tom and Cheryl’s experiences planted the seed for a place where cyclists could come to camp, rest, shower, and make repairs. They purchased property in Central Oregon and, for six years on weekends and vaca- tions, they cleared the land, put in a road, well, and septic system, moved a cabin to the property and refurbished it, and installed solar panels to support being off-grid. Tom built a barn outfitted with equipment for working on bikes. There is an RV with com- plete hook-up and a gathering room where campers and vis- itors can meet, talk, and eat. There is space for tents and an outside shower for camp- ers. Working alongside Tom, Cheryl said she learned how to do so many things. “Not a day goes by I don’t use something he taught me. Everything I do, I hear him telling me how,” she recounted. When Tom retired, they planned to move to the prop- erty, build themselves a house to live in, and run the camp. He did retire in 2015, with PHOTO PROVIDED Cheryl and Tom on the evening before leaving on their cross-country bike ride from Seattle to Washington, D.C. in support of charity. plans to do some part-time work from home so they could move. Boxes were all packed in the garage ready to move and the Sherwood house was on the market. Tom had a routine doctor’s appointment and on his way home, he called to ask Cheryl, “Do you need anything?” – something he often did. When he returned home, he went through his regular ritual with Ardee, their yel- low Labrador, chasing him around the house and then giving him the mail to carry in. Tom pulled out a bouquet of flowers from behind his back. “These are for you,” he told Cheryl. He offered to put them in a vase, asking which one Cheryl wanted him to use. The vases were all packed already so Tom found some- thing to put them in. Cheryl was focused on some work she was doing and not really paying close attention, when she heard Tom say, “Something’s wrong. Get me some water. I can’t breathe.” Cheryl looked up to see See TOM’S REST on page 25 n i g n i s i t r e v Ad ! s k r o W t e g T h e Nug “When we started 27 years ago advertising in Th e Nugget newspaper, it was the best way to reach our local market and visitors. Now, even though we’re on the Internet, Yelp, Trip Advisor, social media, etc., we still fi nd Th e Nugget to be the best way to connect with locals and visitors. Our business has changed over the years from a bike/ski/tennis shop to include a food cart and beer garden with live music and events. Th e Nugget ad rep found unique ways to support us by suggesting new ideas for diff erent kinds of ads, events calendar, stories and their other publications: Th e Sisters Oregon Guide and Discover: Insider’s Guide to Sisters. Th e designers are top-notch and keep my look current -- never stale. 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