For some families, the gaping wounds left from the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks will never be fully healed.

But for a family in Woodside, a tragedy has been transformed into a means for helping others.

For the 12th straight year, the Ashton family held the Tommy Ashton 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament at St. Sebastian’s parish, Woodside. On April 25 and 26, 50 teams – 32 in the men’s open division, 10 in the 40-plus men’s division and eight in the women’s division – competed in the annual tournament to support the Thomas Ashton Foundation.

Tommy Ashton was a student and parishioner at St. Sebastian’s, where he played Catholic Youth Organization basketball. Swimming quickly became his favorite sport, as he captained the team at Archbishop Molloy H.S., Briarwood.

“Tommy was a beautiful young boy growing up,” said John Ashton, Tommy’s father. “He was spiritual, and he was a very kindhearted person.”

After spending three years at St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, Tommy decided that he wanted to jumpstart his life and get into the workforce.

In July, 2001, at the age of 21, Tommy entered the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 3. His first assignment was the Marsh & McLennan headquarters on 46th Street and 6th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

On Monday, Sept. 10, 2001, he began attending Empire State College toward the completion of his degree. That same day, he began a new assignment on the 95th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The next day, Sept. 11, 2001, Tommy went to work as if it was any typical day.

“A few short hours later, things changed for all of us that day,” John said.

John and his wife Kathy desperately tried to contact Tommy and his company. But the plane had hit right at the 95th floor – claiming Tommy as one of nearly 3,000 casualties in the attacks.

The family held out hope for as long as possible, hoping Tommy’s name would turn up on an injured list in a local hospital, but finally, John gathered his family three weeks later.

“I said, ‘Look, we have to convince ourselves that Tommy is not coming home,’” he said. “And that was a very difficult conversation.”

The family held wake services in early October, 2001, where countless people approached John and Kathy with stories of how Tommy influenced their lives.

“We knew Tommy was a great person,” John said. “But when you hear stories, it gives you comfort in knowing that his faith-filled values worked not only in the home but also outside the home.”

Within an hour of arriving home from making arrangements for a memorial service at the funeral home, two NYPD detectives arrived at the Ashton’s door to inform the family that Tommy’s body had been identified.

“As sad as it was, we were grateful that we were able to get Tommy back,” John said. “So many people didn’t have that opportunity.”

Starting the Tournament

In the wake of this tragedy, the Ashtons could have easily turned away from their Catholic faith. This family had already suffered through another tragedy, when John and Kathy’s first-born son, John, died days after his birth in 1977 due to complications from open-heart surgery.

Of course, the family was devastated to lose Tommy, so they thought they could do something in the Woodside community to remember him.

Family members and friends came to John, Kathy and their two daughters, Colleen and Mary, with the idea of starting a basketball tournament to honor Tommy. Tommy had frequently played basketball at the St. Sebastian parish center, so that was a fitting location – though the family knew nothing about how to run a hoops tourney.

May, 2003 was the first tournament, and it’s gone on strong ever since. Two years later, the family started the Thomas Ashton Foundation, a nonprofit that donates all funds raised from the tournament to worthwhile charitable causes – mainly in the Woodside neighborhood – in Tommy’s memory.

In the past, the tournament has supported organizations such as St. Jude’s Hospital, the L.I. Jewish Hospital’s Center for Hope, Intrepid Fallen Heroes and No Greater Sacrifice, as well refurbishing projects at St. Sebastian’s Elementary School.

This year, the proceeds will benefit renovations of the parish center and the organization Delete Blood Cancer, which empowers people to submit bone marrow samples to see if they are a match for someone in need of a transplant.

“We do what we can, and what we raise, we give away,” John said.

The tournament would not be possible without the tireless efforts of more than 50 volunteers ranging in age from teenagers – who weren’t even born when Tommy perished – to senior citizens. At any given time, four games are played simultaneously, so these volunteers are essential in keeping score and running the clock for each game.

“The volunteers are the backbone of the tournament, in addition to my girls,” John said. “You cannot do something like this with just a couple of family members and a few friends. There’s an enormous outgiving of the people in Woodside when it comes to this tournament.

“Woodsiders are great for volunteering and rallying around a cause anyway, but they have really come to help us over the last 12 years. We’re very fortunate to have people who love and care about Tommy.”

Tommy Never Forgotten

Through the tournament, Tommy’s memory has been kept alive. Out of a tragic event, the Ashton family has found a way to celebrate Tommy’s life.

Each year, John says that he sees Tommy in the faces of the dedicated volunteers.

“We have received such love and kindness from the people that have participated,” John said. “When you see people give of themselves, like I know my son gave, it really comes full circle.

“We had a tragedy that devastated our family, but because of our faith and our community, who held our hands for so long in helping us attempt to survive, we were able to pick ourselves up.”

John announced that next year’s tournament will be the last, as he said it’s time for the family to take a step back and reassess how the foundation will be run in the future. They are already expecting a record turnout for the final year.

Donations can be made at anytime, and information on how to donate is available online at www.thomasashtonfoundation.com.

The tournament may be ending, but Tommy’s spirit will forever live on with the Ashton family and the Woodside community. John’s daughter Mary is expecting a baby boy, and, fittingly, she’s going to name him “Tommy.”

Though he’ll never meet his uncle in person, the new Tommy – as well as the entire Ashton family – will always remember Tommy’s legacy.

Below are photos of the tournament winning teams in each division, courtesy of Colleen Ashton.