Thomas Marovich Jr.  “TJ” (1989-2009) written by Zack Trask How do you describe a young man, who lived what seemed to be a lifetime of dedication, service, loyalty in just a few words.  Over the last few days, I have had the opportunity to listen to others describe how Tom has affected them personally.  Everyone has their own story and loving memories of Tom that will stick with them forever.  But no matter how many stories you hear, a few common characteristics always ring through. His Passion Tom ate and breathed the Fire Service.  As the explorer coordinator, I’ve seen many young teens come through the program.  Some join and stay a few months and realize the time commitment is too much and quit.  Some stay a year and move on to school and never look back.  Some stick with the program and go on to become professional firefighters and credit the Explorer Post as the foundation of their accomplishments.  Very few, have gone on from the program and remained a steady fixture in the post.  Tom was one of those special individuals.  Tom spent four years as an Explorer (Sept 03 to June 07).  During his tenure I watched Tom mature quickly.  He became an informal leader.  His peers recognized that Tom had a passion that was contagious.  Tom’s enthusiasm often led him to press the limitations of Explorer roles and resulted in many “walks in the garden.” Tom became a permanent face in the firehouse.  He attended every PRA, logged countless hours as the “duty driver and responded to every emergency call out.  Tom also instructed countless Explorer training sessions even if he wasn’t supposed to be the instructor.  This, of course, led to one of his many “walks in the garden”.   And as luck would have it, as soon as I finished giving Tom a lecture on how he screwed up, an urgent detail would come up and he would volunteer without hesitation. As I reflect now, I joke that he was a supervisors dream and worst nightmare all wrapped into one.  I truly believe that I can credit him for my first gray hair.  It has just now dawned on me that was one of the many things that made him so special to me.  After graduating high school, Tom moved onto the U.S. Forest Service in Modoc National Forest as a firefighter apprentice (June 07).  Tom requested to be put on the roster as an Explorer Advisor.  Even though I knew he was moving on to bigger things, I was sure that we hadn’t seen the last of “TJ”.  Every recruit academy, between every tour, every break in his schedule, Tom found his way back home to help train the explorers.  Tom had a thirst for knowledge.  But Tom wasn’t satisfied with just learning something new; he had to share it with everyone around him.  His passion would never allow him stand idle while there was training that needed to be done.  Everyone in this Explorer post, past and present, has benefited from Tom’s passion and is better for it, especially me. His Loyalty This breaks my heart...I can’t tell you how many times Tom would call me in a week.  While he was an Explorer, it would mostly be about details, or PRA requests, or a training class he wanted to put together.  Many times however, he was calling me to let me know what he was doing outside the post.  Whether it was a school accomplishment, or a possible job opportunity coming up outside the post he always kept me updated. After joining the U.S.F.S. and Aiden Fire Department, his frequent calls were to tell me about a fire he responded to, or bad vehicle accident that they had.  He would ask about how the Explorers were doing, even though he’d only been away for a week or so.  But the thing that touches me the most was the phone call I received on EVERY SINGLE Holiday just because he cared.  It’s said, you never know what you have until it’s gone, well I’ll be missing those phone calls. Tom was one of the most loyal individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure to have known.  He was a loyal employee, student, colleague, friend, and brother.  Tom set the definition of loyalty, and we should all strive to follow suit. His Smile I would challenge anyone to find a fire department related picture of Tom, where he wasn’t sporting that million dollar smile of his.  Anyone who knew him knows what I’m talking about.  I can’t say that I have ever met anyone who smiled more than him.  You couldn’t help but to smile when you were around him.  It was infectious.   As his mentor, advisor, and very close friend, I felt that I owed it to Tom to share my experiences, memories, and lessons learned.  I have read many letters of peoples relationships with Tom and know that mine pales in comparison.  This was my attempt to sum up Thomas Marovich Jr’s personal impact on me. ZT