with leukemia. At the time, Slade noted that he was unable to do the things he loved, like playing golf, running, and enjoying the outdoors. He offered this advice: "You do everything, live every day the fullest. Today could be the last day of your life." Terry Camp, "Mid-Michigan football legend needs help," WJRT-TV. Slade remained close to his former coach, Bo Schembechler. The coach sent weekly notes and frequently called and visited after Slade was diagnosed with leukemia. "During a particularly difficult day in the hospital, Slade woke up to see his former coach sitting in a chair against the wall. They looked at each other but said nothing, and Slade fell back to sleep. When he awoke again five hours later, Bo was sitting in the same chair, looking right at him." Slade died on November 12, 2006, in Ann Arbor at age 54. Though Schembechler was ailing himself, he attended Slade's funeral. That night, Bo delivered his traditional Thursday night pep talk before the Ohio State game. According to the Detroit News: "Bo's speech was not about Ohio State, the Big Ten title or a national championship. The whole speech was about Tom Slade and how, if the players worked hard, listened to their coaches and stuck together as teammates, one day they might be as good a Michigan man as Slade. That was the goal at Michigan, not national championships." The next morning, Schembechler collapsed and died of heart failure before taping his weekly television show. References External links Slade Obituary from USA Today Slade Profile from Saginaw Valley Hall of Fame Article and Photograph from Tom Slade Bone Marrow Drive "Mid-Michigan football legend needs help" EMU Obituary for Slade Michigan: Where Have You Gone?, by Jim Cnockaert, Chapter on Slade starts at p. 162. 1952 births 2006 deaths American adoptees American dentists American football quarterbacks Deaths from leukemia Michigan Wolverines football players Players of American football from Detroit Sportspeople from Saginaw, Michigan Deaths from cancer in Michigan 20th-century dentists