Heads up! Co-workers’ show of support for West Seattle man

(Click to see larger image)
Sandy Watkins from Arbor Heights shares the photo and what she offers as a “feel-good story about (her) husband,” Tony Watkins:

On September 1, 2011 my husband was diagnosed with stage 4, non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He works as an assistant service manager at BMW Seattle in downtown. They have been very supportive of Tony during this difficult time. Tony started really losing his hair this past week and decided to shave his head. He went into work today and 23 of his co-workers had shaved their heads in support of Tony. … I thought it was pretty neat. Tony is 4th from the left in the lower row.

ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: Just found out that our friends at KING 5 followed up on this. You can see their story here.

LA October 6, 2011 (12:45 pm)

Love this story. Thank you.

MB October 6, 2011 (12:46 pm)

So awesome! Best of luck to Tony and family!!

mookie October 6, 2011 (12:47 pm)

A heartwarming reminder of the good in so many people. Holding healing thoughts for Tony.

Tom Gass October 6, 2011 (12:53 pm)

That’s great support by his teammates. Best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.

Tom

chas redmond October 6, 2011 (1:12 pm)

Bald is Beautiful and shaved heads in honor is even more beautiful.

cmc October 6, 2011 (1:16 pm)

What a touching story. Thanks for sharing.

WSSpartan October 6, 2011 (1:19 pm)

What a great group of co-workers. All the best Tony and family.

msc October 6, 2011 (1:32 pm)

That is fantastic! And, what a great looking group of bald men ; )

DH October 6, 2011 (1:40 pm)

That’s awesome, thanks for sharing.

Alki Resident October 6, 2011 (1:45 pm)

Known Tony and Sandy since middle school.Take care Tony.

A October 6, 2011 (1:47 pm)

Great story. Thanks for sharing it.

Anthony October 6, 2011 (1:53 pm)

We got more people to shave their heads at the dealership to support our dear friend. We love ya T-W!

Sue October 6, 2011 (1:57 pm)

Bald really is Beautiful!

B October 6, 2011 (1:59 pm)

Wow that is awesome!! Wishing him well!

Naomi October 6, 2011 (2:09 pm)

BMW Seattle Rocks….Best of luck Tony!!!

Scandinavian October 6, 2011 (2:19 pm)

Neato. A gorgeous dealership staffed by gorgeous people.

rico October 6, 2011 (2:31 pm)

What is with the fellow on the far right of the upper row? Join in and and cut it off or get out of the picture.

Bill Fry October 6, 2011 (2:35 pm)

Wonderful story!! Please continue to lift Tony (and his family and physicians) up in your prayers!

Amy October 6, 2011 (3:40 pm)

!!!!! Great!

Debbie Melchior October 6, 2011 (3:43 pm)

Tony is such an awesome guy and a beautiful person inside and out and we feel fortunate to be able to call both him and Sandy our best friends. We love you both and know Tony is going beat this!!

Cynthia Patterson October 6, 2011 (4:22 pm)

It’s an honor knowing Tony and the whole team at BMW Seattle!

pampire October 6, 2011 (5:05 pm)

Hang in there Tony! I was stage 4 when I was diagnosed with NHL in 2007. It’s a tough row to hoe, but totally beatable. Kick cancer’s butt!

Momof3 October 6, 2011 (5:10 pm)

Great story, what a nice looking crew even without hair.

Alkira October 6, 2011 (5:29 pm)

Oh my gosh, so heartwarming! Love this story.

KF October 6, 2011 (5:30 pm)

You can tell a lot about a guy by watching and listening to those around him. best of luck.

ac October 6, 2011 (5:36 pm)

goodness in the world. Kick cancer’s ass T.

Jsv October 6, 2011 (6:59 pm)

What a great story!!! Nice to read a story about people being kind toward each other.

elle October 6, 2011 (7:07 pm)

I have the pleasure of being friends with Tony… He is my hero. He will kick cancers butt

Myron October 6, 2011 (8:27 pm)

So many familiar faces, sure do miss this crew. It was an honor for me to have worked with this wonderful crew for nearly 10 years. It took me a little while to figure Tony out, but once I figured him out, I didn’t want anyone else to be my boss. Wish you all the very best Tony, I will be looking forward to tee off with you in Sun lake next July. :)

Aman October 6, 2011 (10:47 pm)

Thanks Ms. Watkins. What a nice story to share under challenging circumstances. Good Luck & Many Good Things to Tony & your family.

Vinh October 6, 2011 (11:45 pm)

I jus beat stage 3 non hodgkins lymphoma this past april. i’ll b praying for you guys. BMW Coworkers rock!!!

gwon October 7, 2011 (12:14 am)

I worked @ BMW Seattle for a short 3 months and in that time, bonded with many of the guys in this picture. Not only are they led by an incredible dude in Tony, but the rest of the guys are pretty incredible as well. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

wsguy October 7, 2011 (1:04 am)

Wow I’ll be hitting the rack tonight with a smile

mypatience1978 October 7, 2011 (7:58 am)

This sounds like exactly what I would expect from the team at BMW Seattle.
I was a parts driver for them for a bit over a year, and They are one awesome group of people to have worked with.
Hope you do well beating this tony, and wish you and your family well.
Great job showing your support BMW!

Alki Girl October 7, 2011 (8:28 am)

Thanks for sharing such a great story! What a good looking group of guys with their bald heads -We need to hear more of those stories. And more importantly, kick cancers BUTT!

Stacy Martin October 7, 2011 (3:13 pm)

Your blog post was forwarded to me by a co-worker here at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I’m so sorry to learn of your diagnosis, Tony and it sounds like you have quite an amazing support system.

I’m the Patient Services Manager at LLS and we have a lot of resources and information for those whose lives are affected by a blood cancer like yours. Please don’t hesitate to call or email me if we can be of support or help in any way. My email is stacy.martin@lls.org and my direct line is 206-957-4583.

Take good care,
Stacy Martin, MSW
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Washington/Alaska Chapter