Carroll County has been blessed with many good doctors over the years.

One is being lifted up here because his practice and his life were cut short.

Dr. Thomas Anderson died in November, leaving many people with a void in their lives.

His patients considered him to be a good and caring doctor.

He was anything but conventional. Dr. Tom was a nononsense, practical person who saw what people needed and tried to help them in any way he could - medically or otherwise.

Sometimes that meant accepting a load of firewood as payment, making a house call, or getting people together for a meal and fellowship. He and his wife, Cindy, added on to their home so they could care for people who couldn't go to the hospital or were in their last days.

Of course he prescribed modern medicine. But if he thought what someone needed was a protein shake or a relaxing vacation, he prescribed that, too.

He was an integral part of the community. He spoke out against things that he believed were not in the community's best interest.

Dr. Tom was a man of many talents. As one patient and friend said, "If there was something he wanted to do, he did it." Some of those things were pottery, woodworking, cooking, gardening, and beekeeping.

He was a giving person, and he valued friendships. With his death, Carroll County lost a good doctor and friend.