Tom Defore
 

We were camping in Utah’s Canyonlands. As Tom built our fire he sounded out the cut planks of wood, and as he found tones he liked he set them aside.

After the fire was blazing he turned back to his planks, buried flat stones upright in the ground, and laid the planks over them, creating a marimba. And then he played. He played for us and for the night and for the stars. And then he took out his m’biras and we played some more. He got up and stoked the fire and that time he came back to his seat and he played until our lids grew heavy and we fell asleep.

– Dayna Bateman


 

  


Memorial Service

A memorial service for Tom was held on Monday, January 9, 2006 at the Boulder Theater, in Boulder, Colorado.

Some people expressed an interest in seeing some of the Tom's photos again, or getting copies. Please contact Lauri. It's going to take her several months to sort and go through everything, so she may not be able to respond right away.

Following the service members of Tom's beloved Shona music community - dozens of them - played the beautiful, exhuberent music Tom loved, and people danced, more and more as the evening wore on. We've preserved here many of the testimonials, eulogies and stories from the service.

Finally Nii Armah Sowah led us all in song, and each of us clasped others in warm embrace and it was over.

Fullfilling and sad, uplifting and tearful, the evening gave us all a chance to celebrate our friend, Tom Defore.

The Memorial Service now over, this site will slowly convert to a memorial web site. I hope you will return in a few months to see what has become of it.