Toomer, Edward Charles (1920-2012)
TOOMER, TOWNSEND, LEHMKUHL, COON, KLAUSTERMEIER, LASOTA
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 2/19/2012 at 22:34:42
Edward Charles Toomer
May 23, 1920 - February 05, 2012Storm Lake, Iowa
After a long, productive life, Ed Toomer passed away at the age of 91 on February 5th, 2012, at the Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake.
Edward Charles Toomer was born to Charles and Evelyn (Townsend) Toomer on a farm south of Newell, Iowa, on May 23, 1920. Baptized and confirmed at the Nemaha United Methodist Church, Ed and his brother, Don, grew up on a farm north of Nemaha. He graduated from Nemaha High School in 1937.
Following his graduation from high school and a couple of years spent working with Charles and Evelyn on the farm, Ed and several of his buddies drove to California where he worked at the Lockheed aircraft factory in Burbank. With the beginning of World War II, Ed joined the Army in 1942 and continued to work on airplanes in Kansas City with the 2nd Combat Cargo Squadron. He continued to serve his country in the Pacific Theater, India, and Burma, receiving an honorable discharge in June, 1946.
Those were busy years for Ed as he married Gail Lehmkuhl of Newell in Coffeyville, Kansas, on January 22nd, 1944. They were stationed in McAllen, Texas, where Gayle Ann was born in 1945 while Ed was in the Pacific Theater. Following Ed’s discharge in 1946, they farmed north of Nemaha where Jerry Edward was born. In 1950, the family moved to a farm north of Newell where they lived for forty years. In 1990, they retired from active farming and moved to Storm Lake.
Highly involved in his community, Ed served on the Albert City Elevator Board for sixteen years, the Rural Electric Board for fourteen years, and the Methodist Manor Board for ten years during the planning and construction of Lake Pointe Villa and Otsego Place. In addition, he played an active leadership role at St. John’s United Church of Christ and in the boys’ 4-H Club.
Ed had a passion for music and enjoyed singing nearly anytime, anywhere! After returning from World War II, he and his brother, Don, formed a barbershop quartet that sang throughout Northwest Iowa for several years. The quartet even sang at the opening of the KAYL radio station. Moreover, Ed sang, often with Gail, at numerous church functions over the years and at other community events. Ed sang while riding the tractor; he sang while milking the cows or farrowing sows; and he sang while fixing machinery in his shop. In short, he sang nearly anywhere/anytime as he was inspired or as a song popped into his head.
Ed and Gail loved dancing to big band music as well and were regulars in their early years at the Cobblestone Ballroom and in later years at Lake View on Sunday evenings.
As a team, he and Gail passionately enjoyed the soil and farming: their life’s work which they fully shared. After retiring, they would regularly drive to the Nemaha and Newell areas to reconnect with the land, especially during the planting and harvesting seasons.
Ed had a keen sense of humor and creativity that he also expressed through the figures that he displayed in the yard of their Storm Lake home. They often featured a character or scene that Ed had crafted to represent a particular holiday or event, usually with a kind message for those driving by their busy corner. Those passers-by often rewarded him with a honk or a wave.
Ed will be fondly remembered as he endeared himself to many with his lively sense of humor, quick smile, and positive attitude. He was preceded in death by Gail, his wife of sixty-four years; his brother, Don, and his wife, Vivian; his grandson, Michael Edward Toomer; and his niece, Anita Coon. Those left to cherishing his memory include his daughter, Ann, and her husband, Larry, of Novato, California; his son, Jerry, and his wife, Linda, of Indianapolis, Indiana; his grandchildren: Chris Toomer, of Medan, Indonesia, Sarah Klaustermeier, of Corona del Mar, California, and Andrew, and his wife, Sarah Klaustermeier; his great grandson, Maxwell, of Bozeman, Montana; his nephew and nieces: Greg Toomer, Valerie Toomer, and Jennifer Lasota; several cousins; and a host of good friends.
Memorials may be directed to the United Methodist Church in Storm Lake or the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Hospice.
Visitation: 5:00-7:00 p.m., February 07, 2012, at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Funeral Service: 11:00 a.m., February 08, 2012, at the United Methodist Church in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Interment: February 08, 2012, at the Newell Cemetery in Newell, IowaCopyright © 2012, Fratzke and Jensen Funeral Home
Fratzke and Jensen Funeral Home
Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by LaVern Velau.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen