Truly no greater praise can come to any of us than upon our death, it is said. ”A life well lived, in service to their fellow man.” To be of charity, to be greater in gift than receipt, to have it said that the place in which we lived is better for our being here is truly a legacy worth cherishing.
On the 28th of January this year, after decades of faithful labor, such a man passed on through to his just reward.
John Thomas “Tom“ Long was born on May 3, 1950, in Manteno, Illinois. He died in Godfrey, Illinois on January 28, 2022. Basic biographical data, telling not even a fraction of the story whole: In his lifetime, Tom Long was a lawyer, a banker, entrepreneur, political advisor and consultant, and one of the founders of the Casino in Alton.
But he was more importantly a husband, father, uncle, brother, sincere and good friend to many. While I was somewhat late to the game, I was proud to say that I was among the legion of his friends and admirers. Throughout my legal career, the gulf between Granite City and Alton attorneys was wide and largely unpenetrated. As such, I only knew Tom Long by reputation. It was not until the year 2000 when we moved to Alton that I came to know him much better, more on a personal basis.
We shared some political leanings, his position remaining as always, mine evolving from Moderate Liberal to Conservative. This gave us a common ground, as our professional spheres of legal work never touched. He was always very intelligent, involved and inciteful. Only as time went on did I come to appreciate the crossover nature of many of our common friends, long time loyal warriors for the Republican Party in Madison County for him, golfing buddies for me. We had the pleasure of having Robin and Tom to our house on occasions, would cross paths out and about in town, and I especially enjoyed our lunch meetings. The conversations ranged from families to local, state and national politics, to problem solving, one of his strongest assets and the basis for the column’s title.
Simply put, Tom Long was the singlely most connected man I ever heard about, much less knew. There are abundant stories of desperate inquiries for exotic needs - a left-handed monkey handler in Brazil, a fanciful example, but there were real, panic driven inquires. They were always met by a calm, unpretentious, but amazingly truthful pronouncement by Mr. Long: “I know a guy.”
Indeed, he did, whether in Mexico, Washington, D.C., London, or in my case Cambodia, he surely did know a guy that could and would help. Despite his extraordinary connections, I always found Tom grounded in reality. This was reinforced as I knew more of the many ways helped those in need.
The many acts of kindness by Tom Long often went unnoticed and unheralded, known only by the recipient. Later, his help to the young couple seeking a mortgage would only come out as an example of the benefits of returning to Alton after college.
Tom approached his death with the same degree of strength and humility that he lived his life. He courageously battled a cancer that left him unable to enjoy so much of life, and unfortunately facially altered. But at the Memorial service – which like any good trial lawyer, he personally planned as a Final Summation - pictures of his entire life were courageously displayed. No false sense of ego here.
Missing amongst the photos of family, grandchildren, trips and vacations, were any pictures of the political figures he walked with on a regular basis. No pictures of the President, the Senators, the Governors who sought his counsel. A testament of a modest man, in an oft times immodest profession. A final gracious lesson indeed from a man of faith.
To Robin, Erin, Maggie, Emma, Ginny, and all his brothers- birth and fraternal, sisters, and other family members, sincere condolences, tempered by the knowledge that the faith was kept, the run seen to the natural end.
The solace that comes in knowing that your loved one was held in such high regard can bring peace, helping to ease the pain of the Holidays ahead. It is a sterling example of a life well lived, following the mantra listed at his service: “What lies behind us and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Be not afraid.