Friends and fans of former valley resident Tom Sparks will gather at Lefty's Bar and Grill today, Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 5 p.m. to pay tribute to his life. Sparks passed away from a stroke on Nov. 5 at the age of 33 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Before moving to California, Sparks was a popular morning-show disc jockey on KSKI 103.7 with legions of fans and admirers.
Sparks' father, Bill, has asked that people bring photos and stories to celebrate his life and to contribute to a journal that will be given to his wife, Kate, who also worked at the radio station. The couple would have celebrated their two-month wedding anniversary last Friday.
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The memorial at Lefty's will be held at the same time as services in Los Angeles, which will be at St. Paul's the Apostle Catholic Church. Kate Sparks requested that Tom's friends remember him at the same time.
Bill Sparks said in a statement that doctors have determined that Tom's stroke was probably caused by a condition called antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS), a disease that causes unnatural clotting of the blood.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations in Tom's memory be sent to the APS Foundation of America, the only nonprofit organization in the country dedicated to bringing awareness to APS.
The organization's contact information is: APS Foundation of America, Box 801, LaCrosse, WI 54602-0801 or www.apsfa.org.
