Young people in the Oyster Bay-East Norwich area have lost a good friend. Thomas Robinson died suddenly at the age of 50 on Jan. 15, 2003. At his wake at the Francis P. DeVine Funeral Home, among the many floral tributes were three that demonstrated his life. There was a basketball in orange flowers from Andrew and Sharon Woodstock and a large tennis racket in white and yellow flowers from the members of the Boys and Girls Tennis Teams, the Georgacopoulos family, Anthony Brown and the Pinella family. A colorful floral arrangement said "70" and was from his 1970 graduating class of Oyster Bay High School.

Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District Superintendent of Schools Dr. George Chesterton said, "Tom Robinson was a physical education teacher in the Roosevelt School and coached the varsity boys basketball team and the men's and women's tennis team. He was a graduate of Oyster Bay High School in the class of 1970. He came back to the school in 1977 and was a well-respected teacher and always involved with the community. That included recreation programs he put together. In the summer you could see him sweeping up the basketball courts so the kids would have a place to play.

"Last year was a great season. Numerous times he brought the teams to the playoffs. Last year he had a winning team in tennis. It was a first for the school. It's a shame someone like he should die so young. There will be a foundation to raise money for an appropriate cause and both myself and the school board will cooperate. I'm sure we will find good ways to use the funds.

"He was a good person and a fine gentleman. Look at his players, he instilled that into them.

"Last year's playoff was the greatest game I ever watched. They played like gentlemen and like the good high school players they were. We only lost by one point, but the kids did well and the coach brought them to that point," said Dr. Chesterton. His basketball teams won five Nassau County Class C Championships.

Mr. Robinson was well respected in the community. On Feb. 25, 1995 he was honored at Mt. Olive Baptist Church as an African-American man who made a difference in the community. Brother Charles Durrant spoke about Mr. Robinson and said, "I go a long way back with Tommy. In 1970, I watched him play basketball... and when I was in 11th grade, he coached me. He's had six or seven championships since then. He was a good coach."

Mr. Robinson was also the former coach of the track and field teams. Former school board member Grace Searby and her husband Ray attended the event. She said one of her daughters received a full college scholarship for running, and credited Mr. Robinson as being a great help in that.

The awards program brochure quoted Mr. Robinson as believing: "The measure of greatness is in the genuine caring for others which, when applied, will speak in generations to come." That could be his own epitaph.

"He was very good to his family and his mom," said neighbor Karen DeVine-Minicozzi. "He could always be seen helping his mom. He was very giving of his time and talents."

Tom Reardon, another neighbor of Mr. Robinson said, "He was always helpful around the neighborhood. He was always good-natured about taking ribbings from me about his team. And, he kept the cleanest cars in Oyster Bay."

Carol Miller said, "I knew him best in the mid '70s when we were working at the Foodtown supermarket. Tommy's dream was to go back to Oyster Bay High School and be a gym teacher," she said. "He was truly a wonderful man, a real gentleman and just outstanding. A lot of people knew and loved him. He was a very proud coach. Sometimes I'd run into him and he would talk about what the team was doing."

"He was a very fine fellow, and a very good tennis player. One of my daughters took tennis lessons from him, and she was a student at St. Dominic's. Everybody who knew him thought very well of him," said Oyster Bay resident Tom McGee.

Dave Layton, a longtime fan of Oyster Bay basketball said, "I was always at his games. His death is just a mystery and surprise."

A good friend of the coach, Don Jarvis was a member of Tom Robinson's graduating class of 1970 at Oyster Bay High School. Mr. Jarvis is a teaching assistant pro at Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove and a lifetime fan of Oyster Bay basketball. He and Tommy were great friends.

Mr. Jarvis said, "Tommy worked at Foodtown while he was going to SUNY Farmingdale and then C.W. Post where he played basketball under a couple of great college coaches. He lived his dream out, he wanted to teach and coach in Oyster Bay.

"Oyster Bay basketball was really a tradition with him. I said to him 'why don't you apply for a college team and move up like Rick Petito did. You're good with kids, you can make $100,000.' He said, 'Don, I'm loyal to Oyster Bay basketball. I love the purple and gold. I have my allegiance. I can't leave.'

"He kept wonderful stats of his teams, with each player and what they did. He kept them at the Roosevelt School. Every year, for the last 15 years, when the season started he'd send me the basketball schedule.

The coach was a people person. Mr. Jarvis said, "He always had time to remember who his friends were on the way up. He always had time to say hello to a friend. I can't tell you how many restaurants we sat in talking about the players and the games: who was the best guard and center. He had his favorites. Manny Harmon was a favorite guard. There was Todd Deutch too. Last year there was Dustin Abbate. Paul Murcott was one of his all time favorites. He also talked about Stephen Maddox and Andy Gutschneider. Kurt LeBright was one of the best players he ever had, he was an incredible athlete. Andrew Grant was great. Michael DiBlasio was one of his great players. He had a lot of great players. A lot of those kids gave him many fond memories.

"When you talk about the high school basketball season, it never ended. He did the summer outdoor leagues in Hicksville with them."

"My only regret is that I was his winter friend. In the summer I was working at the golf course and didn't see him often, but when I drove by the Roosevelt School I'd see him at 5 p.m. on a Saturday, teaching someone on the tennis courts or the basketball court.

"Tommy was a man of detail on practices and plays and knew how to insert people in the game and how to read the other team's defense. He was really good at out-coaching the other guys."

Don Jarvis remembered a great game. "It was the game against Malverne in the finals, somewhere in the early '90s. Scott Vegna made a shot with no time on the clock 30 feet out and he nailed the shot it was incredible." He recalled how happy coach Robinson had been at that win. He won five basketball championships. "When he won in the Westbury gym he held up the trophy so high in the air. He wanted everyone to see it."

Mr. Jarvis said sadly, "One day I was going to make a speech when he retired and say Oyster Bay would never be the same without Tommy. I meant to say that 10 years from now. This happened too soon."

Mr. Robinson was the son of Verna and the late Tommie; he was the loving brother of Earl Silas, Linda, Marilyn, John and Gloria. He was the cherished uncle of Nicole, Thomas John, Michele, Rochelle, Vernelle, Nikita and Sarah and a host of uncles, aunts and cousins.

Visiting was at the Francis P. DeVine Funeral Home on Sunday and Monday, Jan. 19 and 20. Because many OBEN students had gotten permission slips to attend the funeral, scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 11 a.m., it was held at St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church, to accommodate the large number of mourners. The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. Kent Edmonston of the Mt. Olive Baptist Church. The interment was at the Brookville Cemetery.