Tom Lapic: Calm in the clutch
Anthony Lonetree
Star Tribune

Published Oct. 26, 2002 LAPI26

The government was immobilized in Washington, D.C., when the terrorists struck, but the activity was nonstop in Sen. Paul Wellstone's St. Paul office.

Calls flooded in from constituents and the news media on Sept. 11, 2001 -- and in the quiet center was Tom Lapic, Wellstone's deputy state director.

It was Lapic, said Josh Syrjamaki, a fellow Wellstone staff member, who spoke with the senator by phone, letting him know what was happening elsewhere, never flinching.

"Whenever there was a crisis," Syrjamaki said, "it was always Tom Lapic who was the calmest and steadiest thinker."

Lapic, 49, who worked for Wellstone since the senator's first term in Washington, died in Friday's plane crash.

The former seminarian was a soft-spoken man rarely quoted in the press but was a valuable adviser to Wellstone, sharing with the senator a belief in the good that government could do and a man to whom Wellstone often would say: "Hey, Tom, listen to this. How does this sound?"

"Tom got involved for all the right reasons," said Connie Lewis, Wellstone's state director. "People came to us with difficult situations, and he really believed, 'There but for the grace of God go I.' Everyone had a story, and he thought everyone should be given the opportunity to share it with us and with Senator Wellstone."

In Eden Prairie, where Lapic lived with his wife, Trudy, he also was remembered for the advice he gave to the daughters of longtime friend Mike Farrell, helpful words that were accompanied by Lapic's steady supply of Diet Pepsi, potato chips and licorice.

Eventually, he would give up the chips and the soda, but never the licorice: "Red and black," Farrell said.

Lapic and Farrell met as high school freshmen at the Crosier seminary and prep school in Onamia, Minn., where they studied for the priesthood. Both changed their minds but kept close ties, becoming partners in a chimney business in the 1980s.

After getting "worn out by it," the two men decided to chase other opportunities, with Farrell becoming a teacher and Lapic editing a weekly newspaper in Chanhassen before accepting a job with Wellstone in Washington, D.C., Farrell recalled.

During that time, Farrell said, Lapic renewed his friendship with Trudy, whom he had met in college. The relationship began with a phone call, which led to $200 and $300 phone bills and then to the surprise announcement that they had gotten married.

"It was a sweet romance," Farrell said.

In recent weeks, he added, when Lapic left Wellstone's St. Paul office to work directly on the campaign, Farrell knew his friend couldn't wait until it ended and he could spend more time with his wife.

He loved quiet evenings.