Thomas J. McCarville

It has been four months since my brother TJ passed away. Inbetween the stages of initial shock and the final realization of loss, there is a middle stage of joy. I hope this comes across ok, but it is the joy in the slow realization of how complex and good a character he was. The realization comes from all of the stories friends and relatives told about a TJ. While all of the stories rung true, because I knew he was that way to me, I never knew how deeply he impacted so many. It kind of magnifies the vision and understanding of him that I had in so many wonderful ways and it makes sense of old Irish song, slightly modified, to say "Tommy we hardly knew you".