NEWPORT, Maine — In one way, it was a good thing that Thomas Witherly was unable to attend a benefit supper in his name Saturday. As someone more accustomed to helping others than being helped, Witherly probably would have been a little uncomfortable, said his family and friends.
Unfortunately, the reason for Witherly’s absence — and the reason for the benefit dinner — is that he is at the Cancer Treatment Center of America in Philadelphia, where he’s undergoing an aggressive chemotherapy regimen. Witherly, 41, has pancreatic cancer.
According to Witherly’s brother Jason, Witherly never had a major illness before his diagnosis in January. Since then, his energy has ebbed and flowed, and, alarmingly, he has lost weight steadily.
“He’s doing as good as can be expected,” said Jason Witherly. “He’s gained a couple of pounds recently, so we’re really hopeful. His spirits are good.”
According to the people who know Witherly best, that good spirit defines the man. From helping people move to stacking wood and everything in between, Witherly is always eager to lend a hand where it’s needed.
“If you needed the shirt off his back, he’d give it to you,” said Stephanie Osborne of Old Town, who is related to Witherly’s wife, Geizette.
Don Clark has been Witherly’s friend since high school when they went to Foxcroft Academy together. He said Witherly has always had a giving spirit. Once, Witherly picked up a homeless woman on the side of the road in Dover-Foxcroft.
“He and his wife drove her to Newport, bought her a meal, gave her a blanket and even gave her a little money,” said Clark. “That’s Tom in a nutshell.”
Witherly’s family and community have rallied around him. His fellow parishioners at Newport Pentecostal Church have heaped hot meals and other forms of assistance on the family. Witherly has become so dedicated to the church, according to his brother, that he at times has lain in a pew during Sunday services because he lacked the strength to sit.
Donations for the Witherly family can be sent to 655 Hudson Road, Glenburn 04401. Checks should be made out to Geizette or Thomas Witherly.
At Pride Manufacturing in Burnham, a mill where Witherly has worked for more than 20 years, employees have donated so much of their vacation time that Witherly continues to receive a paycheck some 16 weeks after being forced off the job. Still, the financial strain of insurance co-payments and traveling to Philadelphia every few weeks for treatment has weighed on the Witherly family.
Worst of all, according to Clark, is that Witherly’s life was going as well as it ever has, mostly because of the birth of his daughter Madison almost three years ago.
Maddy, as she is often called, was the only member of the Witherly household who could attend Saturday’s dinner. Dressed in purple, the color for pancreatic cancer awareness, Maddy chased a pair of balloons around and played with a toy cell phone while her parents spent the evening in a hospital room hundreds of miles away.
“She’s been the focus of many conversations between Tom and I in the past few months,” said Clark. “His daughter changed everything for him. He always considered her his greatest accomplishment in life.”
But Tom Witherly has another important accomplishment in the works.
“Right now, it’s all about getting him better,” said Clark.
Donations for the Witherly family can be sent to 655 Hudson Road, Glenburn 04401. Checks should be made out to Geizette or Thomas Witherly.
