Hung out with Tom this evening and he's in good spirit as always. Chemo has been rough for him but after some PET scans this past week IT IS WORKING! He did apologize for not getting back to all those that have reached out to him and is looking forward to going on the road with Ed this upcoming June. Please keep those positive vibes coming !
Speaking of which, this brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face when Tom's mom shared this with me...
PJ Cuyahoga Flalls OH 8/26/1998 PJ Noblesviile IN 8/18/2000 PJ Cincinnatti OH 8/20/2000 PJ Columbus OH 8/21/2000 PJ Columbus OH 6/24/2003 PJ Hamilton Ontario 9/13/2005 PJ Phiadelphia PA 10/3/2005 PJ Cleveland OH 5/20/2006 PJ Columbia SC 6/16/2008..... e.V Chicago IL 8/21/2008 e.V Philly PA 6/11/2009 e.V Bailtimore MD 6/14/2009... PJ Chicago IL 8/23/2009 .PJ...Philly PA 10/27/2009 PJ.Philadephia PA 10/28/2009. PJ Columbus OH 5/6/2010 PJ Cleveland OH 5/9/2010. BRAD Columbus OH 10/5/2010 e.V St.Louis MO 7/1/2011 .PJ.. East Troy WI 9/3/2011..PJ..East Troy WI 9/4/2011 Neil Young & Crazy Horse Cleveland OH 10/8/2012 RNDM Chicago IL11/13/2012 Alice In Chains/SoundGarden Columbus OH 5/19/2013 AIC Fort Wayne IN 5/21/2013 PJ Pittsburgh PA 10/11/2013 AIC Cincinnati OH 5/17/2014 AIC Cleveland OH 5/19/2014 AIC Indianapolis IN 8/19/2014 PJ Cincinnati OH 10/1/2014 AIC Cincinnati OH 8/06/2015 RNDM Chicago IL 3/15/2016 PJ Columbia SC 4\21\2016 PJ Lexington KY 4/26/2016 PJ Chicago IL 8/20/2016 Soundgarden Columbus OH 5/20/2017 Canceled RIP Chris AIC Columbus OH 5/18/2018 PJ Chicago IL 8/18/2018 PJ Chicago IL 8/20/2018 PJ St Louis Missouri 9/18/2022 AIC Cuyohoga falls Oh. 8/16/2019 SHAWNSMITH Rip 2019Mark Lanegan Band 5/18/19
Wishing you happy birthday Tom! And sending you a loads of healthy wishes and thoughts from this unique place dedicated to a deep fight against cancer: the WHO-IARC based in Lyon, France - https://www.iarc.fr/ Cheers!
2000 - Paris, FR 2006 - Paris, FR 2007 - Werchter, BE 2009 - Berlin, DE 2010 - Arras, FR 2012 - Manchester 1, GB 2012 - Oslo, NO 2014 - Amsterdam 1, NL 2014 - Oslo, NO 2018 - Home Shows 1 & 2
Just wanted to say I'm truly grateful for this community and everything it represents. With your help, Tom was able to reach his goal which is truly incredible. Cannot tell you how stoked I am right now!
(this pic is from Tom's 50th birthday party last week)
PJ Cuyahoga Flalls OH 8/26/1998 PJ Noblesviile IN 8/18/2000 PJ Cincinnatti OH 8/20/2000 PJ Columbus OH 8/21/2000 PJ Columbus OH 6/24/2003 PJ Hamilton Ontario 9/13/2005 PJ Phiadelphia PA 10/3/2005 PJ Cleveland OH 5/20/2006 PJ Columbia SC 6/16/2008..... e.V Chicago IL 8/21/2008 e.V Philly PA 6/11/2009 e.V Bailtimore MD 6/14/2009... PJ Chicago IL 8/23/2009 .PJ...Philly PA 10/27/2009 PJ.Philadephia PA 10/28/2009. PJ Columbus OH 5/6/2010 PJ Cleveland OH 5/9/2010. BRAD Columbus OH 10/5/2010 e.V St.Louis MO 7/1/2011 .PJ.. East Troy WI 9/3/2011..PJ..East Troy WI 9/4/2011 Neil Young & Crazy Horse Cleveland OH 10/8/2012 RNDM Chicago IL11/13/2012 Alice In Chains/SoundGarden Columbus OH 5/19/2013 AIC Fort Wayne IN 5/21/2013 PJ Pittsburgh PA 10/11/2013 AIC Cincinnati OH 5/17/2014 AIC Cleveland OH 5/19/2014 AIC Indianapolis IN 8/19/2014 PJ Cincinnati OH 10/1/2014 AIC Cincinnati OH 8/06/2015 RNDM Chicago IL 3/15/2016 PJ Columbia SC 4\21\2016 PJ Lexington KY 4/26/2016 PJ Chicago IL 8/20/2016 Soundgarden Columbus OH 5/20/2017 Canceled RIP Chris AIC Columbus OH 5/18/2018 PJ Chicago IL 8/18/2018 PJ Chicago IL 8/20/2018 PJ St Louis Missouri 9/18/2022 AIC Cuyohoga falls Oh. 8/16/2019 SHAWNSMITH Rip 2019Mark Lanegan Band 5/18/19
Mansfield 06.28.2008 | Boston 05.17.2010 | Boston 06.19.2011 EV solo | Wrigley Field 07.19.2013 | Worcester 10.15.2013 | Worcester 10.16.2013 | Hartford 10.25.2013
Vancouver 12.04.2013 | Seattle 12.06.2013 | Memphis 10.14.2014 | Quebec City 05.05.2016 | Ottawa 05.08.2016 | Toronto 05.11.2016 | Boston 08.05.2016 | Boston 08.07.2016 | Amsterdam 06.12.2018 | Boston 09.02.2018 | Boston 09.04.2018
Back in October 2018, Pearl Jam's Merchandise Manager (and very close friend) Tom Husman was diagnosed with stage four esophageal cancer. It's been a tough battle for Tom, but he's still full of jokes and keeping his head high. A group of us recently setup a GoFundMe account for Tom to help out with his ongoing medical expenses and I wanted to share the link with everyone here. I apologize if this is not allowed in the forum, but I'm just looking to help a good friend who's always been there for others.
Noooo. Didnt know he passed. Loved him from a distance. Always very kind when we chatted. He showed me stones pick he had in his pocket!!
He always looked out and appreciated us merch hungry fans. 'Without you guys, I'd be out of a job' He watched us open our mystery boxes at the pop up shop with almost as much excitement as us. Very cool person. Best to all his friends and family. Rest in peace kind man.
Such
a sad day!!! We lost a good one today!!!! Tom Hussman was in charge of
merch on many tours I’ve done reaching back to 2001!!! He was the man!!!
The man behind the scenes making everything happen! He was an amazing
friend and an incredible human being! I am saddened beyond words!!! I
love you Tom! You were one of the good ones bud!!!!!!!
💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 #fcancer
Here's what i tried to share with his friends and family on social media:
Most of you who are friends, co-workers and family of Tom's don't know me but I need to share something with you and get it off my chest of a day where Tom displayed how kind and big hearted he was to total strangers so please forgive me as I need to express this in my gratitude towards Tom. I'm your typical Pearl Jam fan who always tried to leave Tom alone so he could do his job and work etc. I realize how he must get bombarded on game day from fans hovering around the merch booths all day etc. One special day in Philadelphia was a day Tom changed someone's life forever and for the better. Again, forgive me as I'm not as close to Tom as many of you are but I need you all to know what amazing thing Tom did out of the kindness of his heart. Besides being a PJ fan, I also run a non-profit that sends morale boosting care packages to our US Service Members deployed to the war zones in the Middle East. We had a Pearl Jam fan (edit: and forum member here on this page) on our list who was in Afghanistan and while there suffered emotional and mental trauma with being deployed and events happening around him in Afghanistan. While this US Service Member was there and receiving our care packages, he used the music of Pearl Jam to help him cope with what he was dealing with and while deployed he flew 2 US Flags over the base; one in my name/honor for sending him care packages and one in the honor and name of PJ's lead singer as the music and lyrics saved this young man's life. This young man wrote out a letter to Pearl Jam's Ed Vedder and the band and mailed the US Flag and letter to the band in Seattle only for him to return from deployment to find it returned and sitting on his doorstep marked as "undeliverable". He was devastated. Fast forward to 2 concerts in Philly years later and I was taking this US Hero with me to the first of two nights as my treat. He brought the flag and letter with him and we spent the day before the concert trying to find out how get it to the band. He needed the band to know the impact they had on his life. How their art, music and lyrics kept him sane in Afghanistan and kept him going. Kept him ALIVE. We were unsuccessful that day and before he left to drive home after the concert, he handed me the flag and private letter and asked me to try for him again the next day as I was returning for the 2nd Philly show. That's where Tom comes in. I spent part of the early afternoon walking around the venue not knowing what to do with this burden that would be an honor to do but at the same time, I was simply there to enjoy a concert. I was terribly nervous about the weight of the flag as it seemed to get heavier and heavier as we got closer to show time. Tom was working hard restocking a merch booth. I asked him to give me 30 seconds and I showed him the US Flag. I showed him the personal hand written letter. He said "it's for a US Veteran?". I said "Yes sir". He said "I will take care of it. Stay here". I won't go into the rest of the details but after that it was taken care of. That night during the show, Ed Vedder publicly called out our US Service Member and thanked the US Service Member for the gift. For the flag. For the hand written letter and letting him know how their art saved his life. Thanks to Tom, our US Service Member forever can go to sleep at night knowing his US Flag flown over the base in Afghanistan absolutely made it to it's intended new owner. It flew from Afghanistan to Seattle back to Virginia and then finally made it's way to Philly and took years to land in the hands of it's intended owner and thanks to Tom, it did. Tom was working and had a job to do but yet he displayed a HUGE heart and demonstrated an act of kindness that we can all learn from and that is you can always do something kind for someone else, no matter how busy you are. For this and more, I will forever be grateful to Tom and may his memory be a blessing to us all. Thanks for letting me share this with you all. Be safe
Comments
Thanks again Dave! I'll be stopping by to see Tommy tomorrow and will provide an update.
Ryan
2016: Lexington and Wrigley 1
Speaking of which, this brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face when Tom's mom shared this with me...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/109MCD206TruIn1NqmDJO8onVUi3JlMk0/view?usp=sharing
Tempe, AZ - 2019
Stay strong brotha, you got this!
2016: Lexington and Wrigley 1
PJ Cuyahoga Flalls OH 8/26/1998
PJ Noblesviile IN 8/18/2000
PJ Cincinnatti OH 8/20/2000
PJ Columbus OH 8/21/2000
PJ Columbus OH 6/24/2003
PJ Hamilton Ontario 9/13/2005
PJ Phiadelphia PA 10/3/2005
PJ Cleveland OH 5/20/2006
PJ Columbia SC 6/16/2008.....
e.V Chicago IL 8/21/2008
e.V Philly PA 6/11/2009
e.V Bailtimore MD 6/14/2009...
PJ Chicago IL 8/23/2009
.PJ...Philly PA 10/27/2009 PJ.Philadephia PA 10/28/2009.
PJ Columbus OH 5/6/2010
PJ Cleveland OH 5/9/2010.
BRAD Columbus OH 10/5/2010
e.V St.Louis MO 7/1/2011
.PJ.. East Troy WI 9/3/2011..PJ..East Troy WI 9/4/2011
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Cleveland OH 10/8/2012
RNDM Chicago IL11/13/2012
Alice In Chains/SoundGarden Columbus OH 5/19/2013
AIC Fort Wayne IN 5/21/2013
PJ Pittsburgh PA 10/11/2013
AIC Cincinnati OH 5/17/2014
AIC Cleveland OH 5/19/2014
AIC Indianapolis IN 8/19/2014
PJ Cincinnati OH 10/1/2014
AIC Cincinnati OH 8/06/2015
RNDM Chicago IL 3/15/2016
PJ Columbia SC 4\21\2016
PJ Lexington KY 4/26/2016
PJ Chicago IL 8/20/2016
Soundgarden Columbus OH 5/20/2017 Canceled RIP Chris
AIC Columbus OH 5/18/2018
PJ Chicago IL 8/18/2018 PJ Chicago IL 8/20/2018
PJ St Louis Missouri 9/18/2022
AIC Cuyohoga falls Oh. 8/16/2019
SHAWNSMITH Rip 2019Mark Lanegan Band 5/18/19
"May you stay, forever young"
And sending you a loads of healthy wishes and thoughts from this unique place dedicated to a deep fight against cancer: the WHO-IARC based in Lyon, France - https://www.iarc.fr/
Cheers!
2006 - Paris, FR
2007 - Werchter, BE
2009 - Berlin, DE
2010 - Arras, FR
2012 - Manchester 1, GB
2012 - Oslo, NO
2014 - Amsterdam 1, NL
2014 - Oslo, NO
2018 - Home Shows 1 & 2
EV
2017 - Taormina 1 & 2, IT
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
2016: Lexington and Wrigley 1
(this pic is from Tom's 50th birthday party last week)
2016: Lexington and Wrigley 1
PJ Cuyahoga Flalls OH 8/26/1998
PJ Noblesviile IN 8/18/2000
PJ Cincinnatti OH 8/20/2000
PJ Columbus OH 8/21/2000
PJ Columbus OH 6/24/2003
PJ Hamilton Ontario 9/13/2005
PJ Phiadelphia PA 10/3/2005
PJ Cleveland OH 5/20/2006
PJ Columbia SC 6/16/2008.....
e.V Chicago IL 8/21/2008
e.V Philly PA 6/11/2009
e.V Bailtimore MD 6/14/2009...
PJ Chicago IL 8/23/2009
.PJ...Philly PA 10/27/2009 PJ.Philadephia PA 10/28/2009.
PJ Columbus OH 5/6/2010
PJ Cleveland OH 5/9/2010.
BRAD Columbus OH 10/5/2010
e.V St.Louis MO 7/1/2011
.PJ.. East Troy WI 9/3/2011..PJ..East Troy WI 9/4/2011
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Cleveland OH 10/8/2012
RNDM Chicago IL11/13/2012
Alice In Chains/SoundGarden Columbus OH 5/19/2013
AIC Fort Wayne IN 5/21/2013
PJ Pittsburgh PA 10/11/2013
AIC Cincinnati OH 5/17/2014
AIC Cleveland OH 5/19/2014
AIC Indianapolis IN 8/19/2014
PJ Cincinnati OH 10/1/2014
AIC Cincinnati OH 8/06/2015
RNDM Chicago IL 3/15/2016
PJ Columbia SC 4\21\2016
PJ Lexington KY 4/26/2016
PJ Chicago IL 8/20/2016
Soundgarden Columbus OH 5/20/2017 Canceled RIP Chris
AIC Columbus OH 5/18/2018
PJ Chicago IL 8/18/2018 PJ Chicago IL 8/20/2018
PJ St Louis Missouri 9/18/2022
AIC Cuyohoga falls Oh. 8/16/2019
SHAWNSMITH Rip 2019Mark Lanegan Band 5/18/19
Vancouver 12.04.2013 | Seattle 12.06.2013 | Memphis 10.14.2014 | Quebec City 05.05.2016 | Ottawa 05.08.2016 | Toronto 05.11.2016 | Boston 08.05.2016 | Boston 08.07.2016 | Amsterdam 06.12.2018 | Boston 09.02.2018 | Boston 09.04.2018
2016: Lexington and Wrigley 1
He always looked out and appreciated us merch hungry fans. 'Without you guys, I'd be out of a job' He watched us open our mystery boxes at the pop up shop with almost as much excitement as us. Very cool person. Best to all his friends and family. Rest in peace kind man.
therealjasonfreese
2016: Lexington and Wrigley 1
Most of you who are friends, co-workers and family of Tom's don't know me but I need to share something with you and get it off my chest of a day where Tom displayed how kind and big hearted he was to total strangers so please forgive me as I need to express this in my gratitude towards Tom.
I'm your typical Pearl Jam fan who always tried to leave Tom alone so he could do his job and work etc. I realize how he must get bombarded on game day from fans hovering around the merch booths all day etc.
One special day in Philadelphia was a day Tom changed someone's life forever and for the better.
Again, forgive me as I'm not as close to Tom as many of you are but I need you all to know what amazing thing Tom did out of the kindness of his heart.
Besides being a PJ fan, I also run a non-profit that sends morale boosting care packages to our US Service Members deployed to the war zones in the Middle East. We had a Pearl Jam fan (edit: and forum member here on this page) on our list who was in Afghanistan and while there suffered emotional and mental trauma with being deployed and events happening around him in Afghanistan. While this US Service Member was there and receiving our care packages, he used the music of Pearl Jam to help him cope with what he was dealing with and while deployed he flew 2 US Flags over the base; one in my name/honor for sending him care packages and one in the honor and name of PJ's lead singer as the music and lyrics saved this young man's life.
This young man wrote out a letter to Pearl Jam's Ed Vedder and the band and mailed the US Flag and letter to the band in Seattle only for him to return from deployment to find it returned and sitting on his doorstep marked as "undeliverable". He was devastated.
Fast forward to 2 concerts in Philly years later and I was taking this US Hero with me to the first of two nights as my treat. He brought the flag and letter with him and we spent the day before the concert trying to find out how get it to the band. He needed the band to know the impact they had on his life. How their art, music and lyrics kept him sane in Afghanistan and kept him going. Kept him ALIVE.
We were unsuccessful that day and before he left to drive home after the concert, he handed me the flag and private letter and asked me to try for him again the next day as I was returning for the 2nd Philly show.
That's where Tom comes in. I spent part of the early afternoon walking around the venue not knowing what to do with this burden that would be an honor to do but at the same time, I was simply there to enjoy a concert. I was terribly nervous about the weight of the flag as it seemed to get heavier and heavier as we got closer to show time.
Tom was working hard restocking a merch booth. I asked him to give me 30 seconds and I showed him the US Flag. I showed him the personal hand written letter. He said "it's for a US Veteran?". I said "Yes sir". He said "I will take care of it. Stay here".
I won't go into the rest of the details but after that it was taken care of. That night during the show, Ed Vedder publicly called out our US Service Member and thanked the US Service Member for the gift. For the flag. For the hand written letter and letting him know how their art saved his life.
Thanks to Tom, our US Service Member forever can go to sleep at night knowing his US Flag flown over the base in Afghanistan absolutely made it to it's intended new owner. It flew from Afghanistan to Seattle back to Virginia and then finally made it's way to Philly and took years to land in the hands of it's intended owner and thanks to Tom, it did.
Tom was working and had a job to do but yet he displayed a HUGE heart and demonstrated an act of kindness that we can all learn from and that is you can always do something kind for someone else, no matter how busy you are.
For this and more, I will forever be grateful to Tom and may his memory be a blessing to us all.
Thanks for letting me share this with you all.
Be safe
RIP.
Cancer sucks.