Van Tomme, Rene "Ray" 1917-2005

VAN TOMME, WEST, BURR, WAGNER, CORDER, KRAMER, PHETZING, LACAEYSE, GOODRICH

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes
Date: 1/31/2014 at 09:03:31

The Montezuma (IA) Republican
Feb. 16, 2005

RENE "RAY" VAN TOMME, 88

Rene "Ray" Van Tomme, 88, of Montezuma, died Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005. He was surrounded by his loved ones and passed away peacefully.

A funeral mass was celebrated on Monday, Feb. 14, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Brooklyn with burial following at Calvary Cemetery. Military honors were conducted by member of the Montezuma Legion Post. Nevenhoven Funeral Services of Brooklyn was in charge of the arrangements.

Ray was born Jan. 25, 1917, in rural Deep River. He was raised most of his life in rural Brooklyn. He married Mervin (West) on March 1, 1941 at St. Patrick's at Tama. As a young man, he worked for John Deere in Moline. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II. He was employed by Farm Service for 17 years. Later he had his own carpentry business until retiring in 1979. Ray loved most outdoor sports, fishing, hunting and trapping. Ray was a loving husband, father and grandfather.

He is survived by his wife, Mervin; a son, Dennis, of Cedar Rapids; a daughter, Collette, of Sacramento, Calif.; six granddaughters, Kelli of Minneapolis, Minn.; Heather (Jason) Burr of Linden; Rachel, Nicole (Jim ) Wagner, and Tiffany, all of Cedar Rapids; and Allison (Chris) Corder of Sacramento, Calif.; three grandsons, Dennis Kramer of Kentucky, and Garett and Gunther Phetzing of Hawaii, and four great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Clemance, and by two sisters, Laura Lacaeyse and Mary Goodrich, and a brother, Camiel.