Obiturary Example

Anna Marie Tomachi, Educator


Ms. Anna Marie Tomachi, [age], of Topeka, KS, died [date of death] at [location] from [cause of death].

Ms. Tomachi was born on June 5, 1949 in Napa, CA, the only daughter of the late Jason and Margaret Tomachi. Ms. Tomachi attended public schools in Napa before obtaining teacher certification and a Master's Degree in Elementary Education from Sonoma State College in 1973.

Immediately following her graduation, Ms. Tomachi joined the Peace Corps and served two years in Nigeria teaching reading to children in remote villages throughout the northern tier of the country. During her stay in Nigeria, she married Peter Tompkins, a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, who was killed three weeks later in an ambush related to the ongoing civil war there. One of Ms. Tomachi's students, Tagat Marichi, became Prime Minister of Nigeria in 1995 and appointed her as an advisor to the Nigerian Education Department.

Upon her return to the United States in 1976, Ms. Tomachi was designated by President Jimmy Carter as a recruitment specialist for the Peace Corps. In this capacity she traveled extensively to campuses throughout the country. In May 1980 she married Theodore (Teddy) Sargent after a brief courtship in Ithaca, NY. Mr. Sargent, an accomplished concert pianist, died in a freak accident aboard Maid of the Mist during the couples' honeymoon in Niagara Falls later that year.

From 1981 to present, Ms. Tomachi taught third grade at Kenyon Valley Elementary School in Topeka, KS. During her classroom teaching career, she received many awards and was a finalist for the Kansas Teacher of the Year in 1992. She is past-President of the Topeka Education Association and was elected delegate to the National Education Association national convention yearly from 1989 through 1998.

Ms. Tomachi's interests included the evolution of stick figures as teaching aids. She authored several articles on this subject for professional journals. She also played trombone in a brass ensemble at various Lutheran churches in the area. She was a member of Bread of Life Lutheran church in suburban Topeka.

Ms. Tomachi is survived by her aunt, Constance Donasta of Helena, MT and five nieces.