Thomas R. Kaminski

Submitted by: April Kaminski
Born: 1983
Died: 2014
My Tribute: Born 2 days before Christmas, my baby brother was the best gift I ever had. Not only a gift to me, but to each & every soul he ever met. Tom was a magnet, without effort he attracted all around him. It was his entire being. He hid an addiction to pain pills from us all. Some assumed gambling was the problem, never imagined the truth. He finally made a break through, realizing he needed some help. That was when we found out- he admitted himself into a treatment center May 2013. He then said he was okay, and we believed (hoped). September came, he moved away to help Dad on his re-locating to the newly built cabin in the mountains of Cherokee. Tom “needed to get away for a while.” He told close friends he was going away to get better. He came back after 4 months clean, healing, fresh.
In just 3 short weeks being home, my mother desperately tried to wake him. She found him too late.
Tommy died January 2013 of a heroin overdose.
Shock.Horror.Regret.Guilt.Anger.Confusion.Deceit.Sadness.Pain.What if’s. Too many thoughts circle in our minds. Tommy was a dear friend, a much loved brother, a cherished and only son, a loving uncle.
The unanswered questions eat us away, how? when? why? WHY!?