Tommy Joey was a lifelong friend of mine. While we attended St. Lawrence School together, we were on separate bus routes, and it was not until Cub Scouts that we became close, along with his twin Timmy Jimmy. This led to Boy Scouts Troop 189, where we served under his father, John V.Shellock, enduring many Klondike Derbys, overnight camps and pineland hikes.Tom would eventually rise to the rank of First Class Scout.
Tom attended Sterling Regional High School, where, in addition to his academic pursuits, he excelled in track and field athletics. He continued his love of learning at Camden County Community College, eventually attaining his first Associate's Degree in Communications
Tom was an avowed progressive liberal, who, while never formally published, wrote extensively on the coming fascist wave. he contributed to many lively internet chats, often under his favorite pseudonym "R. Mutt".
While he never achieved many of the financial goals that he set for himself, he never allowed it to interfere with his charitable contributions.So, while we all knew of his work for the street urchins of Gdansk Poland, his support for the impoverished families of the vanilla orchid farmers of Madagascar was a surprise to even those of us closest to him.
Later in life, Tom became a tireless caretaker foe Phyllis, mother of his and his four siblings. His devotion to her in her last years remains beyond reproach. Likewise, he remained a true friend of mine, considering I almost burned their house down once. Through it all, I never doubted that , in a time of my distress, I could call on Tommy and he would be there for me.