Thomas Weston

Arrangements under the direction of Brentwood Funeral Home, Brentwood, CA.

Dear Food Pantry Associates,

It is with great sadness that I inform you that our former President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Weston passed away last night. As many of you know, Tom had been battling cancer for some time and had put up a very tough fight. He passed peacefully surrounded by his beloved family in his home outside of San Francisco. He was 73.

Words cannot begin to describe how much Tom meant to our company and all of us who worked with him. He was an exceptional businessman, a strong leader, and a man of great integrity. And I can honestly say, Food Pantry would not be what it is today if not for Tom. When Tom came to work for my dad Sully in 1984, Food Pantry had about twenty stores -- all in Hawaii. Over the next twenty years, under Tom’s visionary stewardship, the company developed new formats (including apparel stores, high end hotel gift shops, and more), expanded to the Mainland, and grew its stores to 110. And despite this expansion and growth, Tom kept the company profitable for twenty years running – a remarkable feat given the ups and downs in tourism over the period.

Landlords and vendors saw Tom as a man of his word, a great partner, a guy who was a strong negotiator but who was always thoughtful and fair. The relationships Tom built were instrumental in getting new locations and keeping costs down, but perhaps more importantly, they helped build Food Pantry’s strong reputation in the community.

To the associates who worked for him, Tom was a great boss, and inspirational leader and a true friend. Senior Vice President of Operations Darcy Takushi remembers Tom this way: “He was strict, fair and had a whole lot of compassion. The associates loved him and he was always so cordial and appreciative to all of them. He would always thank each and every one of them when visiting stores. His smile and his jovial personality charmed everyone and when he left a store he made the associates feel good about themselves.”

Director of Warehouse Procurement Vernon Ikebe will always remember Tom’s great business sense, his readiness to share his thoughts and opinions, the way he would engage you when he spoke to you and give you his undivided attention, the large roll of extra drink tickets he would hand out at the Christmas parties and the way Tom would “stop what he was doing, lean over, and try to ‘scrunch’ down his tall body to get to my daughter’s level so he could take a few minutes to talk to her whenever she visited the office in the days when she was little. It was one of the many special things about him that we will miss.”

Executive Vice President Andy Kawano says, “I will always remember Tom for being as 'tough as nails' (and imposing at times) on the outside, but a loving and caring person inside. He loved his job. He loved working at Food Pantry and Kalama Beach to lead the team and have fun with everyone, and while he would regularly let everyone know how much he cared about them (his way), he wouldn't hesitate to 'make dust' as he took action everyday to drive the business upward and onward. Yes, we will remember that Tom sincerely cared about everyone that worked with him, including the vendors and landlords, and his caring and trust developed strong relationships that benefited the businesses over the years.”

As for me, I think of Tom as a man who loved his family dearly, who was passionate about his work, and who always ran this business as his own. I will always remember his kindness to me and my family, the unending advice and support he gave me over the years, his hearty laugh and warm smile, his ability to be tough when he needed to be, the way he felt about our associates, and his excitement for our business. And I will recall the phrase my dad said many, many times over the years as he worked closely with Tom, “You know that Tom, he’s a good man.” And indeed, he was.

In the retirement message he wrote in 2004, Tom called his tenure at Food Pantry “the ride of his life.” Saying his was a “dream job” for someone who loved the retail business, he explained that he was retiring with a “tremendous sense of accomplishment” and the “belief that he worked with the best associates in the world.” It was just like Tom to thank others for what he had helped the company to achieve, but we know that Food Pantry and its associates were blessed to have Tom as our leader.

I know all of you who worked with Tom have special memories of him and I hope you will take a minute to reflect on them, perhaps share them with others, and offer your prayers for him and his family. I know your thoughts, prayers, and kind memories would mean a great deal to Tom.

Eulogy

When I think about my dad and the words on would use to describe him it’s pretty straight forward and most of us would arrive at the same ones. He was certainly stubborn, ornery, feisty, opinionated, and set in his ways. But he was also very smart, hard working, loyal, funny, loving, and the ultimate provider.

Our father certainly fit the generation he was born into. He grew up tough, with a pack of cigarettes rolled up in his t-shirt, eager to use his fists with anyone who wanted to cross him. He spent time in the military serving the country he loved and when his career began he worked tirelessly and passionately to make EVERYTHING he did successful. He loved to work and his work defined him. He didn’t just work for himself though, he worked for those who employed him, he worked for those who worked for him, but most importantly he worked to provide for his family. As a child you don’t always understand or appreciate that, but as you mature you realize the ideals that drove it. And while he may have never been great at verbalizing it or demonstrating it, we always knew we came first!

We wish he had been given a few more years of life both because we so wish he could have enjoyed the fruits of his labor more fully. It doesn’t seem fair that just as he was finally doing more for himself it was taken away. I could never begin to say he was beginning to relax though. I don’t think my father ever really relaxed. If he wasn’t puttering around the house, he was busy doing something, his mind was always going. Even when I spent the evening with him in the hospital last Tuesday night he was squirming in bed, barking at Maggie to get him home and cursing the nurses.

At the time of Dad’s diagnosis we all knew he would put up a good fight which he did throughout. He never complained about the hand he was dealt or the toll his treatments were taking. As you would expect, he spent more time concerned about everyone else than himself. He commented to me regularly that he worried how hard this was on Maggie.

We didn’t want to let him go but we are thankful it went swiftly in the end and his passing was peaceful and beautiful. He spent five days in the hospital in an attempt to recuperate from the latest chemotherapy and radiology treatments. When it was clear the treatments would no longer have any positive affect it was time to bring him home. He was anxious to get home and begged incessantly to be there. As we look back we now know he was ready go and just wanted to be home. It was only 24 hours later that he passed away with his family at his side letting him know it was okay to go. What more can you ask?

Now he gets to rest, but I do fear someone is still catching grief from him somewhere or is the recipient of one of his practical jokes. Many of us have been on the receiving end of his devilish sense of humor and I am sure many of those stories will be exchanged today.

I am thankful for Tom Weston and the life he gave me and although I didn’t live with my dad as a child I still grew with my dad and I am a product of him. I have many great memories which were shared with Maggie, Paige and Matt. Lots of them are in pictures but all of them are in our hearts forever.

We love you Dad and we will miss you!