03/19/2021
DMI is mourning the loss of a loyal client and personal friend of the owner - J.P. Tom Trench has been a literal neighbor of mine (J.P.) for some 30 + years. I still remember inviting him and his wife over to the house and they were both so polite, complimentary, and juat fun to be around. I have a very small circle of friends and he was counted among them, because of his personable, exuberant, and loyal nature.... and most of all ...he was a car guy! He always liked "comfortable" cars; and was partial to Cadillacs. He knew that I had some collector cars and his inner child sometimes longed to have a 'toy' around as well. So, on one occasion, he purchased a 1984 Cadillac Eldorado Barritz convertible but soon learned that owning a classic also means drilling a hole in your wallet. Whenever the darn thing needed mending, it had to go either to the mechanic or me (the Body Shop). So he eventually got rid of that toy, but after a year or so he'd be searching for another cool vehicle and calling me up asking "what do you think?". There were many times Tom would call me, and I'd have to "talk him off of the ledge" from buying another "classic" by reminding him of the fact that he really didn't enjoy the ups and downs of the hobby, whereas I did. Tom was so loyal, that when I purchased DMI Collision Center in Colorado Springs, he didn't hesitate to make sure that all of his auto body needs were handled by us, even if it involved a tow. Most recently, he set his sights on purchasing a Cadillac Allante like the one that I have and even though he sought my input, I could tell there was no talking him out of that one. So he bought one and we made a pact to pal around driving our twin cars together and pretend that we were two kool old guys. Our first plan was thwarted when he put his Allante in a shop to work out all of the bugs and change the fluids. Our second attempt had to be cancelled because my car's steering column got locked up. (See what I mean about classic cars?) Our next scheduled attempt didn't happen because he wasn't feeling well and had to make several emergency room visits. During one ER visit, he contracted Covid but was immediately started on remedial treatment with various cocktails. We were texting back and forth and it didn't seem like a big deal, but suddenly he stopped texting. I just learned yesterday on March 18th that my friend - Tom Trench - had died on February 19th from complications of Covid, contracted from an earlier hospital visit. DMI and his circle of friends will miss his easy going manner and the fact that he was such a character. My one regret is that I don't feel that I tried hard enough to promote the benefit of him having a personal relationship with JESUS and I frankly don't know where his relationship stood with CHRIST. Those of you who have good friends, always let them know about your convictions, especially if you believe that it can be of help to them. They can always decide on their own as to what they choose to accept.
The first photo is a pic of my car and the second photo is Tom's.