Tom Canavan enjoyed life and his enjoyment was infectious. All of us who were in his wide circle of friends had our lives enhanced by his company, particularly his humour. Tom had the quintessential wit of Dubliners but few could match his quick-fire dead-pan responses, a feature that was almost a mark of his entertaining personality. It made him an alluring companion at work and play.
Probably Tom's best-known role was in the motor trade. He was the man who created a highly successful Honda and Volvo dealership on Dublin's East Wall Road, previously regarded as inhospitable territory for car retailing. Before setting up there he had been a high-profile salesman with the Denis Mahony dealership in Glasnevin.
He took a highly disciplined and professional approach to his work, evident from the fact that many potential buyers years ago became loyal customers and even close friends. Tom had a special respect for his customers, believing that if he didn't keep them happy somebody else would.
Another role not so publicly played was that of husband and father. With Margaret he was immensely proud of his five daughters, Jennifer, Alison, Laura, Kate and Grace. When Alison was achieving fame as an international model, we were all wonderfully entertained to the secrets of the catwalk, especially the unpleasant wheeling and dealing bits. Tom was fascinated by the mega-deals of the supermodel world but happily admitted that for him, models were always going to be in metal and he didn't want them hanging around.
He picked up a golf club for the first time at the age of 43 and beat his handicap down to a very healthy 16 within a short time. His golfing prowess introduced him to more people and led him to join the K Club, where he quickly became a popular fixture in his own right. A round or two of the game he loved would be followed by a few more rounds, in which his order was wont to be "a small gin and tonic".
It could be said that Tom Canavan approached his departure from this life in much the same way he did any other project: determined to do it his way, determined to give it his best shot. For most of the two years he battled with cancer, few people were aware of what he was going through; he didn't want them to be. If he had only a short time left, he was going to make the most of it. Three months before he died, he attended the Superbowl in Florida, then went on to fulfil his dream of playing at the world-famous Augusta Golf Club, where he birdied the seventh hole. In fact, over his last eight days he played five full games of golf.
This attitude - "so long as you're living, live to the full" - knew no bounds. While he was in hospital for some tests, a doctor came in and found him with a golf club in his hand. "Practising your putting?" queried the doctor, to which Tom's response was: "Am I wasting my time?" There are many examples of his gallows humour and his defiant attitude, such as the time he asked the doctor to tell him when to stop buying green bananas for ripening.
When others might have resigned themselves to their fate and planned for the inevitable, Tom continued to plan for the future. Just before he passed away, he was organising a drive to the south of France in the latest soft-top Volvo. It was a trip he would never make. His positive attitude of thinking ahead, keeping the diary full, was almost disconcerting to his friends. We knew of his suffering but we were loath to contemplate that unspeakable word, death. Tom wasn't contemplating it.
Since Tom left us on May 18th he has been sorely missed by the many friends he made - old and new - through business, golf and his many other interests. The heartfelt sympathy and warm thoughts of us all go to Margaret, Jennifer, Alison, Laura, Kate and Grace, his parents Maureen and Tom and his brothers Aidan, Noel and Francis.
Tom has left us with an abundance of memories, mostly humorous. But above all, we cannot forget his courage and fortitude in nearly two years when he truly lived life to the full.
P.M.F.A.