Mary Tomasky

TOMASKY Mary Tomasky, a resident of Trillium Place in Columbus, died Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at Dublin Methodist Hospital in Dublin, Oh. She was 86, and the cause of death was pneumonia. Tomasky lived most of her life in Morgantown, W.Va., moving to Columbus in 2006. She taught art and creative writing in Morgantown public schools for 30 years, until her retirement in 1983. She was a graduate of West Virginia University, from which she received both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Born Maria Aluisi (later changed to Lewis) in San Giovanni in Fiore, Italy, she came to America with her parents in 1928 and settled in the Morgantown area. Before college, she studied art in New York City, taking classes at Hunter College and the Art Students' League. She continued to paint through most of her life. During World War II, she went to Norfolk, Va., where she worked in radio communications in support of the war effort. She returned to New York toward the war's end and came back to Morgantown in 1949. She was married for 45 years to Michael Tomasky, a trial attorney in Morgantown, who died in 1997. She was a member of St. Thomas a Becket Episcopal Church. In addition to her husband, she was also preceded in death by a daughter Michele in 1970 and by 4 sisters Vicky Lewis, Rose Lewis, Teresa Pasko and Virginia Lohr. She is survived by a daughter, Susan of Bexley, Oh., her husband, Ronald Ungvarsky and their daughter, Victoria Ungvarsky; a son, Michael of Silver Spring, Md. and his wife, Sarah Kerr; a sister, Anne Frank of Virginia Beach, Va.; and 17 nieces and nephews. Visiting hours will be held Thursday, January 8, 2009 at ROTRUCK LOBB FUNERAL HOME-Mancinelli Chapel in Westover, W.Va. from 7-9 p.m. Funeral service will be conducted on Friday, January 9, 2009 at the St. Thomas a Becket Episcopal Church at 10 a.m. with The Rev. Julie Murdoch officiating. Interment will follow at the East Oak Grove Cemetery, Morgantown. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Thomas a Becket General Fund (tax deductible), 75 Old Cheat Rd., Morgantown, W.Va. 26508, or to Art Department-WVU Foundation, One Waterfront Place, Morgantown, W.Va. 26501. Personal condolences may be offered to the family online at www.rotruck-lobb.com.