John Tomaskovic

John Tomaskovic
April 1, 1941 - December 19, 2021

John Tomaskovic, a.k.a. Jack, died on December 19, 2021 at the age of 80. He was a resident of the Wanaque Reserve in Wanaque, NJ since 2017. Prior to that he lived in Wayne, NJ for over 45 years, as well as Elmwood Park, and Garfield, NJ.

Born April 1, 1941 in Passaic, NJ to William and Rose Tomaskovic. John had five siblings–Eleanor (Zanca) & her late husband Sam of Garfield; Mary (Kling) & her husband Joe (both predeceased) of Garfield; Ruth Ann (Sitarski) & her husband Eugene of Carteret; William & his wife Angie (both predeceased) of Elmwood Park; and Robert (predeceased) & his wife Helen of Clifton. He is also survived by a host of loving nieces and nephews.

John & his wife Pamela, nee Dolci, had three children. Jami Ann (predeceased), Evan & his wife Debra of Mahwah, and Aaron & his wife Mary of Brielle. John was blessed with four grandchildren – Hannah, Joseph, Jesse, and Ben who were the pride and crowning glory of his life.

John’s basic philosophy of life was to “Give as much as you can to the community where you live.” John was a devoted volunteer of the Wayne P.A.L. where he served for over 25 years as a Trustee, Vice President, Assistant Treasurer, Treasurer, and President. He also served in administrative capacities as Chairman within the Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Soccer programs.

Coaching in the PAL programs for over twenty years, he always emphasized that “Team Play” was the most important concept to be learned in youth athletics. Everyone on his teams experienced the “sitting out” part of team sports to respect the players who were not “starters.” Although he coached many championship and undefeated teams, he was most pleased with the success of the team that lost the first 7 games and ended up 7 and 7.

John also volunteered with the Circle of Influence (C.O.I.), where one’s life experiences could help students at William Paterson University have a better chance of meeting success. Here he developed and delivered seminars on finances and business ethics.

He was employed by Becton Dickinson, Packaging Corporation of America, Hoffmann La Roche, and Johnson Controls serving in finance, engineering and management. In business related associations he was a Director with the National Association of Accountants and C.F.O. with the International PERMAC Users Group.

He attended Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, earning his BS in Accounting and MBA in Finance.