Thomas John Helms

So sorry to the family to hear about your loss. We got to know Tom and his dad. They flew us in to the ponds for 33 years. What a great pilot and a great guy we will miss him.

We are so sorry to hear that are friend, Tom Helms, who flew us into the ponds for 33 years him and his dad he was a great man. We had good times. He was a great pilot. We will miss him.

My husband and I flew many trips with Tom. Every Sept he would fly us up Long Lake, let us off on shore and then we would backpack the 5 miles to the Cold River lean-tos. He would regale us with great stories about the Adirondacks. At an appointed time he would pick us up and take us back to Long Lake, and of course dinner at the Adirondack Hotel. This was the highlight of summer for us. Our kids loved flying with Tom because he was so friendly and interesting. We will miss you Tom.

Condolences to the family. I hung around Tom a lot in high school. He was a great friend. He beat me at ping ping regularly until he broke his right arm. But my winning streak only lasted a week or two - until he learned how to beat me with his left hand. He loved basketball and frequently had a library book on math under his arm. He tried hard to teach me what he learned from those books, but his innate ability and love for math greatly exceeded mine.

I am so deeply saddened to hear of Tom's passing. I think it a tragedy that I didn't know about his life until he left this one. What a man of valor and of true worth to his community. I am certain that Long Lake will mourn his passing for a very long time. I know his many flights impacted anyone on the lake, as we all heard him coming and going! What a beautiful sound! I only met him once when, as a young girl, when I babysat for he and Julie one of his sons in the small stone cottage at Greatstone! Life is a treasure and everyone in it. God keep and comfort his family and may each of his sons be blessed by their dad's honorable life.