Joan Tomko

Joan Tomko always made time for family and friends. Her kindness and the love she showed were just a few of her very special qualities. Her personality shone like the sun – warm and compassionate for those around her. Joan made everyone feel special and left her mark on all those she came in contact with.

Under the leadership of newly inaugurated President Calvin Coolidge, America entered into the 1920s with confidence. The politics of the time were as turbulent as ever, yet industry had made the U.S. economy surge. The decade would be forever remembered for its carefree and decadent flavor. Fred and Barbara (Hazen) Peiser were far removed from these things that characterized the 1920s. They lived a modest life in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and in the summer of 1923, the couple was anxiously awaiting the birth of their second child. On August 9th, their new bundle of joy, a daughter they named Joan, was born.

Along with her older sister, Joan enjoyed a typical childhood growing up in the suburbs of Ridgewood, where she began her schooling. When she was 15, her family moved to the warm, arid climate of Arizona, which was better for her father’s ailing health. While here, Joan’s sister began attending college, but suddenly became ill and died. Not long after, her father also died, and she and her mother moved back east to Boston to be closer to family. By this time, Joan was a high school graduate and enrolled in classes at Boston University, where she eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

After college, Joan went to work as a secretary at General Electric in New York, and it was here that she met Bill Tomko, who was in training. As fate would have it, the two fell in love and were married in 1947. Shortly after saying “I do”, the couple moved to Maine so that Bill could attend the University of Maine. The next year, the young couple welcomed the birth of their first son, Pete, who decided to enter the world in the middle of a bad snowstorm. After some time, the family of three packed up and moved to Pittsfield, MA, for a few years and then to Schenectady, in eastern New York, though they didn’t live here long before moving again. This time the family left the busyness of New York behind them and headed for Royal Oak, Michigan, a tranquil suburb of Detroit. It was here the couple completed their family with the births of two more sons: Steven born in 1953, and David born in 1958.

Although their family was complete, they still had a few more moves to enjoy. In 1968, the family moved to Wyoming, Ohio for 6 years before making their home in West Bloomfield, Michigan in 1974. They stayed here for 28 years before building a new home in Holland in 2002.

Joan was a wonderfully devoted wife and mother, who raised a traditional “All American family.” She was always attentive to her sons and was actively involved in their schooling and other activities. While they were growing up, she stayed home with them. Their activities were always her priority and she never missed a sporting event, presentation or performance where they were involved. Once everyone was out ot the house, she worked as an aid at a nearby preschool for several years.

Always happy, Joan was very friendly and sociable, and knew how to connect with people from all walks of life. Those she met usually walked away with a smile because of her warm easiness and kind heart. Joan enjoyed being active in her community as well, and was a member of the First Church of Christ Scientist in Grand Rapids as well as many clubs, including the Holland Garden Club and several area book clubs. In her leisure time, she loved to play cards of all kinds, especially Bridge, traveling and solving word puzzles. Over the years, Joan had also stayed in touch with her college sorority sisters from the Pi Beta Phi fraternity.

Joan was a loving and amiable woman, who was deeply committed to her family and friends. She was truly a ray of sunshine for those close enough to receive the gift of her warmth. She will be greatly missed.

Joan P. Tomko, age 84, of Holland, MI, died on Monday, March 31, 2008, at the Hospice House of Holland. She is survived by her husband, Bill Tomko; sons: Pete Tomko of Irvine, CA, Steven (Linda) Tomko of Culver City, CA, and David (Marcia) Tomko of Kalamazoo; and a grandson, Matthew Tomko. The family will receive friends at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 4, at the Northwood Chapel of the Dykstra Life Story Funeral Home, 295 Douglas Avenue, Holland. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one’s choice. Please visit Joan’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com, where you may share a memory with her family or sign her online guest book.