aupops2, Friend and Great Auburn Man...

[chimesAU 89]

The board just took a big hit. Been following pops' posts since the AE days...like others have said, he came across as a true Auburn man ( and I don't use the term lightly). My heart hurts and I've never met the man...It really does put things into perspective. War Damn Eagle to pops and all my other Auburn brothers and sisters.

[tbone4jc 2,241]

Rest in Heaven Pops! You will be greatly missed.

[3rdgeneration 6,470]

I am so sad to hear this. I like to imagine that I know you all, that we are friends, or at least related. I wish I'd known he was so sick, I would have prayed for his comfort and tried to give words of encouragement. I'm happy he had an amazing season to watch in his last days.

We will miss you here on earth Pops. You will be joining my mom in the Greater Heaven Auburn Club. Sing the fight song and the alma mater together. I'll be joining you there one day. Prayers for comfort for your family. You are whole and fully healed now.

[ellitor 33,114]

I feel like I lost a family member with this. I know we all lost an Auburn family member here. I never personally met Pops but I loved and respected him dearly.WAR DAMN POPS!

[DJ_Hatch 0]

Tom had such a tenacious spirit. There were many days during his treatments when he would call and tell me that as bad as he felt or as bad as he hurt he wouldn't quit. Many of those conversations ended in tears for his wife and the thought of leaving her, but he always would tell me it would be okay 'cause he'd see her again someday. Here's to that day. I will miss our conversations about football and recruiting, but more than anything I will miss the laughs we shared. See you soon, my friend.

Spoken like a true gentleman... a trait you, John (Bird) and Tom (Pops) have in common. Very sad to hear that my old friend is gone, but glad that he isn't suffering. Wish our boys could've sent him home with another championship, but I know for a fact that he could not have been more proud of his alma mater. I've met several folks in my life who were passionate about AU football, but I'm not sure that many could top "Pops". I can remember asking Bird many years ago, "Is this guy for real? Man, he REALLY loves AU!" and it turned out that he was for real, and he did love AU, and for that we will always remember him. God bless old friend! Hope the Good Lord is ready to talk some serious recruiting talk! War Eagle Pops!

[VegasEagle 202]

OMG ! Well......,WDE POPS!!!... I will mist you!

[Slammer1 409]

I am extremely saddened to hear of Pops passing. We were good friends on here as we were close to the same age and had much in common. We swapped many PMs over recent times and we were both on the same page as to what was happening at AU. I had no idea of his illness as he never mentioned it to me. Thanks Dixie for making us aware of his passing. I will certainly miss him. Auburn has lost a true Auburn Man. He loved Auburn as much as anybody I came in contact with. Here's to you Pops, God bless you and War Eagle!!!!

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

I feel like I lost a family member with this. I know we all lost an Auburn family member here. I never personally met Pops but I loved and respected him dearly.WAR DAMN POPS!

As the news sunk in....I started to feel the same way. I always looked forward to his posts, and I loved his stories. I just feel so sad. I never met him in person either but I spent a lot of time following him on AE and then here on this board. I just can't imagine a football season without Pops. I miss him already.

[Martian Manhunter 44]

My thoughts and prayers.

[AUpreacherman22 3,891]

Sad news. Praying for pops' family!

[sevenlee36 1,654]

I lost my father a year ago to cancer, horrible disease to say the least. I didn't know aupop but saw his posts. No doubt he will be missed. Peace and prayers to his family.

[FormerlySec38Row34 56]

Very sad day, hearing this. We'll miss your insights, Pops. War Eagle to you.

[jordanharehaint 16]

Sorry to hear the news. Prayers sent.

[AUpreacherman22 3,891]

I just read this story from Pops:

Hope this is not boring, but I'll share one more TRUE story. My freshman year, 1961, I was selected to become a member of Squires, a freshman/soph Honor Society. As part of the initiation, myself and the other 20-odd candidates were blindfolded in Samford Park, and as a demonstration of how much we loved Auburn, were told to find one of those once-standing mighty oak trees and wrap our arms around it, and hug it. We all wandered around, but soon I found a tree-like object to hug. It was another inductee, and when we took our blindfolds off, both of us, although embarrassed, introduced ourselves and became fast friends. That other inductee's name was TUCKER FREDRICKSON!!!

Hilarious! Gonna miss Pops!

[AUFAN78 3,926]

I have no doubt Pops is reflecting on an outstanding recruiting campaign with our AU brethren in heaven. You will be missed buddy. Prayers to the family.