Sam

Tom (Sam) Hergott

Dec 5, 1950 – Dec 7, 2002

I’ve known Sam since High School.  I was a freshman and he was a senior.  Our first interaction was  a car wash during frosh week.  The naive freshies were corralled together to wash all the seniors’ cars.  I viewed the Seniors from afar with awe.

It wasn’t until I was a senior that I re-connected with Sam again.  I would go to Saskatoon where he resided and attended University.   I was always welcomed to spend an afternoon with him and his buddies.  He always treated me with respect and like a sister.  His constant concern for my well-being and protectiveness was heartfelt.

Over the years, we always made a point of getting together as often as we could.  Sam became a good friend to our daughter and introduced her to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Poker.

Football season was a highlight in our lives.  Not only the excitement of seeing the game but it meant spending weekends with Sam who was living in Regina then.  We would always stay a couple of nights at his house.  It was a family affair.  Big breakfasts in the morning and evening suppers where everyone contributes their fair share of the cooking or cleaning.  Poker until three or four in the morning.  These weekends occurred over twelve years.

In 2002, Sam’s health began to fail.  Diagnosed with cancer, there was little anybody could do.   He moved back to Saskatoon under the care of his sister, Glorianne.   Rod and I made sure to get him to the games when he was still able to get around.  However, the last few games and the 2002 Grey Cup was watched  in the Palliative Care ward of St. Paul’s Hospital.  Too weak to move, we wheeled his bed into the reserved family room.  His siblings, nieces, nephews and close friends were in attendance.

Two weeks later, he passed away.

I still think of Sam everyday.  I miss his life and I miss his soul.

Happy Birthday Bud!