You can take it with you

Obituary

Just before dawn on Sunday, November 22, about 20 family members and friends surrounded Tom Campbell, telling stories and toasting him as he left this life. Thomas Joseph Campbell was born in Fort Monroe, Virginia on September 9, 1953. As part of a military family, he lived all over the U.S. and in France. After high school in Hawaii, he came to Oregon to attend Oregon State and essentially never left.

Tom died due to complications of his battle with colon cancer. He is survived by his wife Jan and sons Cooper and Rory. He was a design engineer with a passion for automotive design. Because he wanted to live in Portland, he was not able to pursue automotive design as a career; while working for other companies, his goal was to have his own business designing and building automobiles. In fall 2009, he and Jan formed Campbell Coachworks with that goal in mind. Tom spent 20 years designing and building from the ground up the Cambellini, a retro sports car inspired by European sports cars of the 1960s. In summer 2009, he brought the Cambellini to the Concours d’Elegance in Forest Grove where it took first place in its division.

Tom passed with his ugly old tea mug in one hand and a cup of beer in the other. Jan had to pry the beer from his hand. Tom to the end. He took with him to his next destination the tools and loves of his life: his mechanical pencil, calculator, bifocals, a bottle of Mercurochrome, his oldest pair of shop pants, a Skyline Ridge Runner tee shirt, a “hideously ugly” (says Jan) torn and stained red plaid work shirt, his suspenders, favorite slippers, driving cap and a pin from the first show where he showed the Cambellini. Also with him were pieces of jewelry long worn by Rory, Cooper and Jan, a photo of Tom and Jan, and a photo of the Cambellini.

Tom and Jan would have celebrated 20 years of marriage on December 16. Despite his young age, Tom felt that nothing important had been left undone. Even if he was unable to see his sons become men, they are old enough for him to have seen the men that they will become and he was very proud of them.

Tom is also survived by his parents William E. and Julia Campbell of Lake Oswego, sisters Laura Clark of Portland and CrisMarie Campbell of Whitefish, Montana, his favorite aunt Bernadette Murphy of New York City, and a large community of friends and family.

A celebration of Tom’s life will be held December 5. Email tomcampbellcelebration@gmail.com for details.

Celebration of Tom

Tom and I would have been married twenty years on December 16th. We were afraid to talk about it before we got the results of his scan, but we were hoping to have a huge party to celebrate his recovery and our anniversary. When he was diagnosed with colon cancer in March the prognosis was not good. we thought he may have as few as three years. In May, Tom had a scan that showed huge improvement, the doctor told us that it was not unreasonable to anticipate a cure to his cancer. So we began to plan for the rest of our lives. We started Campbell Coachworks, a business plan for Tom to at last fulfill his dream of building and selling kit cars. When he had the energy over the summer and early fall he began to build his prototype. It's very rough, but as it sits in the shop you can see the shapes that inspired him. Even when we found out that his cancer had not been cured and that he had pneumonia, we never, ever, imagined that this would happen. When Tom was moved to the CCU we understood that we would know in about three days if he would make it. We discussed with the doctor and our boys if we wanted to continue to treat the illness or just make him comfortable. Tom was determined to fight, he received a new chemo drug just ten hours before he passed. You have all touched us in a big or small way. Prayers, hopes, offers of support. There have been small and grand gestures from cards and flowers (please, no more flowers), coming to the service, meals, transportation, help with my work. A group of guys from Silver Eagle are building our porch rail. A neighbor wrote Tom's obituary. Another neighbor stayed home from the service to keep an eye on the house for us. We have been surrounded by friends and family and yesterday it was just the three of us and it was normal. I had to empty my own dishwasher and do laundry for the first time in weeks. So we're having that big party.

A Celebration of Tom

Saturday, December 5, 2009
Beginning at 3 p.m.

Join us as we celebrate Tom’s life. We’ll be in the house, around a bonfire and in Tom’s shop. The Cambellini will be on display. Lots of food, drink, loud music and people.

This is a celebration of Tom Campbell. Bring your stories, photos, and memories of Tom. Be ready to share, laugh and cry with us.


For information, email: tomcampbellcelebration@gmail.com

A Tribute to Tom

Joe Freitas was asked for one line to discribe the styling of the Campbellini, This is what he wrote.


From the fertile mind of Tom Campbell comes the ultimate mix of science, art, engineering, and finesse. Born out of a necessity to create what had never been created before, the Cambellini started as a vision. What would a mix of classic British and Italian exotic sports cars and modern technology look like today? Tom answered that question in his quest to create something wholly original. To be a car designer in the U.S. is a tough life. You spend years toiling away in Detroit, working on the purgatory that is cup holder design, then maybe…just maybe, you get to design the next Ford family box, or the next Chrysler straight-to-rental-fleet special. For Tom, this just wouldn’t do. The Cambellini would be of a singular vision, wrought of singular hands. The designer started like so many other budding car designers; he sketched his ideas on paper. But that’s where the similarities between Tom and other car designers come to an end. The Cambellini leapt from the paper to a clay model, meticulously shaped and reshaped with his own hands like such fine pottery. Then clay led to steel, aluminum, fiberglass, leather, and rubber, all fabricated, formed, riveted, and welded by the man himself. Not everybody has all the tools to make an entire car from scratch in their shop though. Tom was no exception. But whenever Tom bumped up against a capability or tool he did not have, he made one! Many people these days in the custom car business throw money at the problem. Tom threw himself at the problem. Big car companies have to make many compromises. Not so with the Cambellini. A fully independent suspension designed and built from scratch by Tom would ensure proper racecar handling. If the engine is the heart of the car, then the rhythm of the Cambellini certainly came from a different drummer. The best engine Ford never made would sit immediately behind the driver and in front of the rear wheels. The Yamaha V6 SHO engine built for Ford’s hot sedan in the early 1990’s would fit the bill just fine, and satisfy Tom’s sense of individuality. The body? Hand laid fiberglass made using molds Tom made using a styling buck Tom made. Did I mention Tom made everything? And after years of toil and perseverance, the results of his labor of love are astounding. The instantly catchy Italian red Cambellini strikes a low, wide pose, with a slender waist and wide hips. The look is instantly breathtaking and confusing because of its distinct lines, yet the familiar influence of classics of yore can be discerned. Is it a Ferrari? A Jaguar from the swinging sixties? Is it one of the many European cottage industry supercars? No. It is much more special than that. It is the embodiment of the anti-establishment car. It is the free spirit in automotive form. It is speed, function, and fun, all wrapped up in an eye popping wrapper.

Tom never followed the pack, went with the crowd, or stepped in line with the automotive world. Tom forged his own path, his own unique place in automotive history, and he did it on his terms with no compromises. Is it art? Is it engineering? Is it hand crafted excellence? Is it open-topped nirvana for car guys and gals? Yes it is. It most certainly is.

He had no regrets

Tom just didn't bounce back after his last chemo like we expected. We really believed that he had licked the cancer or at least kicked it pretty hard. He started out October feeling crappy, and it just got worse. We found out in late October that there was still cancer remaining and that he had developed pneumonia. We will never know but it seems like the pneumonia must have been caused by cancer, because nothing we did made any difference. Tom was in the hospital for most of November, he just got sicker and sicker. He was able to have short visits with many of the people that were the most special to him but missed quite a few as well. About twenty five of us gathered around him in the early morning. He received a blessing from Mary & Steve Young's priest, and then we drank beer, screwdrivers and juice, toasted him and told stories. Tom passed peacefully at 6:30 Sunday morning, November 22nd.

He was 56 years old and said he had no regrets about his life. He felt nothing important was left undone. Even if he was unable to see his sons become men, they are old enough for him to see the men they will become and he was very proud of them. Tom died with his ugly old blue tea mug in one hand and a cup of beer in the other. I had to pry the beer from his hand. Tom to the end

There was Mass for Tom at the chapel at Mary's Woods in Lake Oswego, Tuesday, November 24th

Being in the CCU is the right place for Tom. His problems keep changing, some improve and new ones show up. Today his cough and breathing are much better, he is using something called a Bipac that pushes the air into his lungs for him. He had it on yesterday for a few hours and it really helped.

It's impossible to comprehend how we got here.

Relatives are coming in from out of town to visit. Some of our very closest friends have been able to pop in to say hello. The boys brought some of Tom's favorite pictures and things from home to decorate his room. They have been able to spend time just sitting with him. I am mostly in my recliner next to his bed. I got some sleep last night, mainly because they are so on top of it here, I guess that let me rest.

Emails and offers of support continue to be a great comfort.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Last night things went from bad to worse. Tom is now in intensive care.

He is now resting much more comfortably than when he came in about 3am. They are now treating the yeast, which is responding and at least the stuff in his throat is less bothersome. His breathing has improved, and a tube has drained the contents of his stomach, softening his belly quite a bit. This is some of the stuff I didn't talk about yesterday. I'm telling him that he's doing better, but he feels so bad that he can't feel the difference.

They still aren't sure at all of the real cause of the infection. This is all very scary.