BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
Tom Coppinger, who lost a three-year battle with lymphoma on April 11, left behind his wife, Kelli, and daughter, Brianna. Kelli Coppinger’s life, as well as the life of her daughter, Brianna, 5, were changed forever in the blink of an eye.
Coppinger, 35, of Jackson, lost her husband, Thomas, 36, to lymphoma at Robert Wood Johnson University Hos-pital, New Brunswick, on April 11. Tom fought a 31/2-year battle with the cancer that ultimately claimed his life.
Kelli’s mother, Jackie Glovich, of Freehold Borough, said Coppinger was one of the strongest men she has ever known.
“He went through so much in an effort to have as much time as he could with them,” Glovich said, mentioning the chemotherapy treatments, bone marrow transplant and other invasive treatments her son-in-law endured.
Friends and family of Tom and Kelli had previously arranged to host a fundraiser to help defray some of the medical expenses incurred after a three-year absence from Tom’s job with Kelli’s father, Larry, in Larry’s business, Ceilings Are Us. Tom had just started his own business, Ceiling Pros, before he became ill.
The fundraiser will now be held as a memorial for Tom and will take place from 5-9 p.m. April 22 at the Freehold Elks Lodge, West Main Street, Freehold.
The fundraiser will be a “beef and beer” event. Tickets are $30 for people over 21 and $15 for people under 21. For tickets, contact Jason or Cara Larned at (732) 202-8200 or Kerry Higgins at (732) 780-8359.
Contributions by check to the Tom Coppinger Cancer Fund may be sent in care of Jason and Cara Larned, 34 Pitch Pine Lane, Howell 07731.
Coppinger was born in South Amboy and lived in Jackson for most of his life. The couple would have celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in December. On March 26 they were able to celebrate the day they had met 17 years earlier.
Glovich said the nurse who cared for Tom knew the Coppingers and Brianna very well after caring for Tom for so long and prepared a small party complete with cake, candles and balloons for the couple on March 25, the day before Tom was to start his last round of treatment.
Tom also planned a special gift for his wife – a way to say how much he would cherish her forever – and a way to keep their loving bond together in life and in death, as well.
While Tom was in the hospital, Glovich delivered the gift that arrived just in time for the anniversary – two rings made from an ancient stone that was split in two to form the rings – a symbol of the eternal love he had for his wife and partner. Glovich said Tom was extremely happy she was able to deliver the rings before he started the treatment and that at least he and Kelli had a chance to wear them together for a while.
Glovich said the nurses and doctors became like family to the couple and to Brianna, even attending Tom’s funeral service.
In a prepared statement, Kelli said Tom “lit up a room when he walked in” and had a wonderful sense of humor.
“I am so lucky to have him love me and be my husband. I miss my best friend, my partner, my soul mate,” Kelli said.
Kelli said Tom fought his cancer hard, not for himself, but for her and their daughter.
“When he went into the hospital this time he knew he wasn’t going to be coming home. I think that’s what hurts the most. I hoped he was wrong and that I could at least get him home again like he wanted,” she said.
“He was my strength when I was weak, and I was his strength when he was weak. We were soul mates since the day we met and the world is a lesser place now. He lives on in Bri. I can go on knowing that someday Tom and I will be together again forever. Until then, I hope he is around me and gives me the strength when I need it because we are soul mates forever.”