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Services
Funeral Services will be held on Friday, January 23, 2015 at 9:30 AM from the funeral home, then to Immaculate Heart of Mary R.C. Church, 580 Ratzer Road, Wayne, where at 10:30 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered.
Frances Annette Tomsey, age 71, of Highland Lakes, entered into the peace of eternal rest on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 after long courageous battle with Multiple Myeloma.
Fran was born in Brooklyn, NY and lived there until she was eleven years old. Then she moved with her family to Ridgefield where she attended and eventually graduated from St. Cecilia High School, Ridgefield with the Class of 1960. While attending that school her algebra teacher was the famous Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi.
As a young woman, she worked for Morgan Guarantee Bank in NYC.
Fran met a gentleman named Bob Tomsey in 1971. Bob was friends with the young man who was dating Fran’s sister Annette and that friend arranged Fran and Bob’s blind date. Bob and Fran’s love for each other grew and eventually they decided to marry. Bob still remembers the day the jeweler came to Fran’s house in Ridgefield to present her with an array of engagement/wedding ring selections. They married at St. James Episcopal Church in Ridgefield on Saturday, October 30, 1976 and settled into their new home together in Highland Lakes where they’ve remained to the present time.
In 1986, Fran began a career as a dental receptionist with Dr. John Pier in Vernon Township. She worked under Dr. Pier for five years, then under Dr. David Langer, who took over the practice, for another twenty-one years. The patients loved Fran’s gentle yet up-beat disposition which always put them at ease when they sat in that place that most people dread – the dentist chair. If not for her illness, Fran would probably still be working there today.
Fran was a warm, bubbly and energetic person who had a contagious love for family and friends. She was extremely close to her cousin Marie. As young girls, Fran and Marie made life-memories singing in the Catholic Youth Organization’s (CYO) choir at St. Matthews Church in Ridgefield. Marie sang soprano and Fran added the alto part with her warm, lush, beautiful voice. She and Marie were great fans of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. Fran knew all the artist of the day but especially loved seeing Connie Francis or the Everly Brothers perform because she enjoyed singing harmony along with them.
Fran also loved to take vacations. She and her husband Bob enjoyed a great time in Puerto Rico and the two of them took trips with cousin Marie and her husband Bob down south to Cape May and Disney World and up north to Mount Washington in New Hampshire. She also liked to spend time along with Bob with her sister Annette and husband Louis in Lavallette.
As a young lady, Fran had boundless energy. She was a great swimmer and swam often at Crestwood Lake and at the Palisades Amusement Park. She spoke Italian and was a great cook too. Each Thanksgiving Day celebration was sure to feature Fran’s famous antipasto. It was expected! It was tradition! If watching the QVC shopping channel could be considered a hobby, this might be the one that Fran was most passionate about. She single-handedly made those people at QVC rich and one could imagine that the host probably knew Fran on a first-name basis.
Of course, Fran was the consummate doting grandmother to her three grandchildren. Abigail was her first grandchild so she always held a warm spot in Grandma’s heart. When she was just one years old Abigail’s first time not sleeping in her own bed was because she was enjoying a sleepover at Grandma’s house. Anthony was a delightful surprise because he was the first boy to be born to her side of the family in literally decades! She adored Anthony and he in turn was very dedicated to his grandma. Then there was little Anna who Fran loved to take shopping to the mall, to see musicals and out to eat for “ladies lunch.”
As the sun has set on the life of Fran Tomsey, the warmth of who she was as a person will continue to radiate for a long time in the lives of those who had the privilege of knowing her. Her sister Annette, who was eight years younger recalls the time that Fran took her first paycheck from Morgan Guarantee Bank and bought her little sister a Barbie corvette, and how Fran always helped get her ready for school, putting her hair in a pony tail (Annette always ripped it out when she got to school) and how she was always there when she got off the bus in the afternoon. Fran’s daughter Stacey described her mom as “my strength and my best friend – the wind beneath my wings.” Her daughter Sharon “loved Mom more than words” and she described her mom as “the one who always knew how to comfort and whose unconditional love was a living example. Fran loved her son-in-laws Michael and Matthew as if they were her own. ” Even up to the last moments of her life, Fran was asking her daughters, “are you warm enough?, do you have enough money?”
Her love of people was even for those she didn’t know personally as evidenced by her monetary sponsorship of a child through World Vision from the time that child was three until the child turned twenty! She loved all children and regularly donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and she also felt for the plight of women ravished by breast cancer, often donating money for breast cancer research.
For the past few months, Fran entrusted her care to the dedicated, loving, gentle team of professionals at Care One Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care Center in Wayne. Her family extends special thanks to these compassionate care-givers for making Fran’s final months the best they could be.
Fran is survived by her beloved husband of thirty-eight years, Robert Tomsey who never left her side during her final days; her two much-loved daughters: Stacey and husband Michael Harrje of Chestertown, NY, and Sharon and husband Matthew Giordano of Wayne; three adored grandchildren: Abigail and Anthony Giordano and Anna Harrje; her dear younger sister Annette and husband Louis Marino of Pequannock; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Fran’s name are asked to consider the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P.O Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN (www.stjude.org).
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Funeral Services will be held on Friday, January 23, 2015 at 9:30 AM from the funeral home, then to Immaculate Heart of Mary R.C. Church, 580 Ratzer Road, Wayne, where at 10:30 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered.
Services
Funeral Services will be held on Friday, January 23, 2015 at 9:30 AM from the funeral home, then to Immaculate Heart of Mary R.C. Church, 580 Ratzer Road, Wayne, where at 10:30 AM a Funeral Mass will be offered.
Frances Annette Tomsey, age 71, of Highland Lakes, entered into the peace of eternal rest on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 after long courageous battle with Multiple Myeloma.
Fran was born in Brooklyn, NY and lived there until she was eleven years old. Then she moved with her family to Ridgefield where she attended and eventually graduated from St. Cecilia High School, Ridgefield with the Class of 1960. While attending that school her algebra teacher was the famous Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi.
As a young woman, she worked for Morgan Guarantee Bank in NYC.
Fran met a gentleman named Bob Tomsey in 1971. Bob was friends with the young man who was dating Fran’s sister Annette and that friend arranged Fran and Bob’s blind date. Bob and Fran’s love for each other grew and eventually they decided to marry. Bob still remembers the day the jeweler came to Fran’s house in Ridgefield to present her with an array of engagement/wedding ring selections. They married at St. James Episcopal Church in Ridgefield on Saturday, October 30, 1976 and settled into their new home together in Highland Lakes where they’ve remained to the present time.
In 1986, Fran began a career as a dental receptionist with Dr. John Pier in Vernon Township. She worked under Dr. Pier for five years, then under Dr. David Langer, who took over the practice, for another twenty-one years. The patients loved Fran’s gentle yet up-beat disposition which always put them at ease when they sat in that place that most people dread – the dentist chair. If not for her illness, Fran would probably still be working there today.
Fran was a warm, bubbly and energetic person who had a contagious love for family and friends. She was extremely close to her cousin Marie. As young girls, Fran and Marie made life-memories singing in the Catholic Youth Organization’s (CYO) choir at St. Matthews Church in Ridgefield. Marie sang soprano and Fran added the alto part with her warm, lush, beautiful voice. She and Marie were great fans of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. Fran knew all the artist of the day but especially loved seeing Connie Francis or the Everly Brothers perform because she enjoyed singing harmony along with them.
Fran also loved to take vacations. She and her husband Bob enjoyed a great time in Puerto Rico and the two of them took trips with cousin Marie and her husband Bob down south to Cape May and Disney World and up north to Mount Washington in New Hampshire. She also liked to spend time along with Bob with her sister Annette and husband Louis in Lavallette.
As a young lady, Fran had boundless energy. She was a great swimmer and swam often at Crestwood Lake and at the Palisades Amusement Park. She spoke Italian and was a great cook too. Each Thanksgiving Day celebration was sure to feature Fran’s famous antipasto. It was expected! It was tradition! If watching the QVC shopping channel could be considered a hobby, this might be the one that Fran was most passionate about. She single-handedly made those people at QVC rich and one could imagine that the host probably knew Fran on a first-name basis.
Of course, Fran was the consummate doting grandmother to her three grandchildren. Abigail was her first grandchild so she always held a warm spot in Grandma’s heart. When she was just one years old Abigail’s first time not sleeping in her own bed was because she was enjoying a sleepover at Grandma’s house. Anthony was a delightful surprise because he was the first boy to be born to her side of the family in literally decades! She adored Anthony and he in turn was very dedicated to his grandma. Then there was little Anna who Fran loved to take shopping to the mall, to see musicals and out to eat for “ladies lunch.”
As the sun has set on the life of Fran Tomsey, the warmth of who she was as a person will continue to radiate for a long time in the lives of those who had the privilege of knowing her. Her sister Annette, who was eight years younger recalls the time that Fran took her first paycheck from Morgan Guarantee Bank and bought her little sister a Barbie corvette, and how Fran always helped get her ready for school, putting her hair in a pony tail (Annette always ripped it out when she got to school) and how she was always there when she got off the bus in the afternoon. Fran’s daughter Stacey described her mom as “my strength and my best friend – the wind beneath my wings.” Her daughter Sharon “loved Mom more than words” and she described her mom as “the one who always knew how to comfort and whose unconditional love was a living example. Fran loved her son-in-laws Michael and Matthew as if they were her own. ” Even up to the last moments of her life, Fran was asking her daughters, “are you warm enough?, do you have enough money?”
Her love of people was even for those she didn’t know personally as evidenced by her monetary sponsorship of a child through World Vision from the time that child was three until the child turned twenty! She loved all children and regularly donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and she also felt for the plight of women ravished by breast cancer, often donating money for breast cancer research.
For the past few months, Fran entrusted her care to the dedicated, loving, gentle team of professionals at Care One Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care Center in Wayne. Her family extends special thanks to these compassionate care-givers for making Fran’s final months the best they could be.
Fran is survived by her beloved husband of thirty-eight years, Robert Tomsey who never left her side during her final days; her two much-loved daughters: Stacey and husband Michael Harrje of Chestertown, NY, and Sharon and husband Matthew Giordano of Wayne; three adored grandchildren: Abigail and Anthony Giordano and Anna Harrje; her dear younger sister Annette and husband Louis Marino of Pequannock; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Fran’s name are asked to consider the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, P.O Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN (www.stjude.org).
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