Mr. Thomas Dillon has reached his 100th birthday and members of the choir visited the house of his daughter Maureen and her husband John, to pay tribute to the most gentle, unassuming, friendly and humble “father of the choir”.
Stout Hearted Men was one of the first songs he learned and he delighted in joining in with the singing and especially enjoyed the festive “Deck the Hall”.
Tommy was a second tenor in our choir from 1978 to 2019; 42 active years and he served as Assistant Librarian for 1982 and 1983 then as Librarian between 1984 and 2002. A family man with strong Christian beliefs, Tom was always ready to contribute the choir’s organisation and social activities. He was a central feature of a film we made in 2014 in which he expressed his joy and pleasure in belonging to our choir family.
Maureen was surprised at the large number of members that turned out to sing for Tom, some of whom didn’t know him as they are recent new recruits; such is the respect in which he is held.
The tea, coffee and birthday cake kindly offered by Maureen and John were met with enthusiasm as was the good wishes for Tom with a promise to return next year.
Congratulations Tom and well done! A true legend.
The photograph is Tom, aged 93, singing at the Albert Hall Nottingham in 2016.
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