Obituary for John William Toma
John Toma, 93, passed away on March 10, 2020. John was born on December 19, 1926 in Dexter, Michigan. He was a graduate of Oklahoma University, where he earned a degree in Electrical Engineering. While serving as a Specialist in the U.S. Army at Ft. Sill in Oklahoma, he met a college student named Carolyn Toma at a church function, who would soon become his wife of 73 years. Upon graduating from college, the young couple moved to Louisville in 1951 when John accepted a position as an electrical engineer with General Electric in connection with the opening of Appliance Park.
John rose through the ranks over the course of 30 years at GE, including serving as the manager of the Home Laundry Engineering Group. He was issued multiple patents for inventions he developed on behalf of GE. John was born to be an engineer, and had an innate ability to fix just about anything.
John was an active person with varied interests, including golf, tennis, bowling, fitness training, and oil painting. He and Carolyn traveled extensively around the world with their friends. Following retirement, John and Carolyn spent many winters in Florida, but ultimately returned full time to Louisville to be closer to family and friends and moved to The Glenview Condominiums, where he served as Board President.
John was a longstanding member of Broadway Baptist Church, where he served as Deacon, Chair of the Building Maintenance Committee, and many other positions. Every Tuesday for many years, John single-handedly applied a fresh coat of paint to a large portion of the interior of the church building - a project he continued into his 90s. John will be remembered as a strong, caring man who was generous with his time and talents.
John is survived by his wife Carolyn; children Mark (Genia), Terry (Melanie), and Robin (Mark); grandchildren Brittany Riddle, Blair Close (Gabe), Mattie Toma, and Liam Toma; great-grandson Micah Close; and a brother Dan Toma. The family extends special thanks to his primary care physician Robert E. Ellis, M.D., and to the residents and staff at The Glenview Condominiums and Brownsboro Park retirement community for their friendship and support in his later years.
Visitation will be 10-11:45 on Friday, March 13, 2020 at Broadway Baptist Church, 4000 Brownsboro Road, with funeral service to follow at noon. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Broadway Baptist Church.
John rose through the ranks over the course of 30 years at GE, including serving as the manager of the Home Laundry Engineering Group. He was issued multiple patents for inventions he developed on behalf of GE. John was born to be an engineer, and had an innate ability to fix just about anything.
John was an active person with varied interests, including golf, tennis, bowling, fitness training, and oil painting. He and Carolyn traveled extensively around the world with their friends. Following retirement, John and Carolyn spent many winters in Florida, but ultimately returned full time to Louisville to be closer to family and friends and moved to The Glenview Condominiums, where he served as Board President.
John was a longstanding member of Broadway Baptist Church, where he served as Deacon, Chair of the Building Maintenance Committee, and many other positions. Every Tuesday for many years, John single-handedly applied a fresh coat of paint to a large portion of the interior of the church building - a project he continued into his 90s. John will be remembered as a strong, caring man who was generous with his time and talents.
John is survived by his wife Carolyn; children Mark (Genia), Terry (Melanie), and Robin (Mark); grandchildren Brittany Riddle, Blair Close (Gabe), Mattie Toma, and Liam Toma; great-grandson Micah Close; and a brother Dan Toma. The family extends special thanks to his primary care physician Robert E. Ellis, M.D., and to the residents and staff at The Glenview Condominiums and Brownsboro Park retirement community for their friendship and support in his later years.
Visitation will be 10-11:45 on Friday, March 13, 2020 at Broadway Baptist Church, 4000 Brownsboro Road, with funeral service to follow at noon. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Broadway Baptist Church.