Tom Schofield ( Great - nephew of Ena Sharples ) Tom Schofield was Ena Sharples ' s great - nephew , grandson of her brother Tom who emigrated to the USA in 1912 . The elder Tom had raised a family in the US , fathering a son also named Tom who had three children , including Tom . He ' d lost touch with his family in Weatherfield not long after leaving the country so when his grandson Tom was due in the UK for work purposes , Tom asked him to find Ena and persuade her to come and stay at his log cabin between Omaha and Sioux City , Nebraska , putting up the air fare himself . The younger Tom worked for a travel agent in Omaha , who did package tours of Europe and he ' d been dispatched to the UK to check out the hotels . In order to trace Ena , Tom used a firm of solicitors who put an ad in a local Weatherfield paper asking her to contact them , using her maiden name and last known address of 65 Inkerman Street . Ena , now a widow and living in the Vestry of the Glad Tidings Mission Hall , saw the ad and got in touch . She was informed only that someone would soon contact her and had no idea who was behind the ad until Tom turned up at her door . Ena was very happy to learn that her brother was alive and well and still thought about her . Tom acquainted her with the Schofield line going back to her brother and read a letter from him in which he talked about his childhood memories of her , which moved her to tears . Startled to receive the invite to visit him , Ena wavered on accepting as she was set in her ways and was fearful about flying for the first time . It was only when Annie Walker scoffed at the very idea of her going to America that she announced she was taking up her brother ' s offer . Tom was in the area a little while longer before flying home with Ena . In that time he sampled Ena ' s Lancashire hotpot , and defended her when Lionel Petty confronted her over a neighbourhood boycott of the Corner Shop she ' d enacted . He also had a minor spat with Len Fairclough when Elsie Tanner accepted a drink from Tom causing a jealous Len to walk out of the Rovers . Over the next eight years , Tom married Faye - Marie and settled in Manchester , Connecticut . In 1973 , Tom and Faye - Marie planned a visit to the UK to see the Manchester Festival . A week before they left , Ena ' s brother Tom passed away in his sleep . Tom and Faye - Marie delivered this news to Ena in person upon their arrival in Weatherfield . Ena took the news well , finding comfort in the fact that he hadn ' t suffered . Tom wasn ' t interested in sight - seeing and spent most of the three - week stay in Coronation Street , socialising with Ena ' s friends and neighbours . He also helped out at the Community Centre ' s Manchester Festival day by serving at the juice counter . On most of these occasions , he wasn ' t accompanied by his wife . A notable exception was the Street outing to Woburn Abbey . Tom made the most of the visit by bringing along his camera and taking photographs of the animals at Woburn Safari Park . He and Faye - Marie were delighted when Ena introduced them to The Duke of Bedford . Unlike her husband , Faye - Marie loved to visit new places and wanted to experience as much British culture and history as she could . She fancied herself an intellectual and sought out others for the type of stimulating conversation she didn ' t get from Tom . Despite this , their marriage was a happy one . While in Weatherfield , she latched onto Ken Barlow , a fellow liberal - minded teacher . Their attachment worried Ena , who asked Tom and Faye - Marie why they hardly spent any time together . Tom explained to her that they had an open marriage , which concerned her all the more . Faye - Marie and Ken convinced Ena that they were only friends and when Tom demonstrated faith in his wife , Ena accepted that their marriage worked for them , even if she didn ' t understand it . The Schofields then returned home .