Leola Marilyn Tomcak

Leola Marilyn (Cernusak) Tomcak of Omaha, Nebraska, loving daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great-great grandmother, friend, and mom to many, passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by her family on Friday, September 27th, 2024 at the age of 91.

Lovingly known by family and friends as Loly or Lee, she was preceded in death by her husband, Louis J. Tomcak, her mother, Emma (Kavan) Cernusak, father, Joseph Cernusak, her sisters, Evelyn Stibal and Arlene Brezina, her brothers, Leonard Cernusak, Joe Cernusak, Eddie Cernusak, and Donnie Cernusak, and her grandson, Brandon Tomcak.

Lee is survived by her children, LuAnne (Chuck) Todd, Michael (Cindy) Tomcak, Mary (Jamie) Pike, and Chris (Christine) Tomcak, by her grandchildren, Michelle (Michael) Wiese, Dustin (Trisha) Todd, Mitchell Tomcak, Alli Pike, Carli Pike, Conner Tomcak, Colin Tomcak, Cameron Tomcak, and Calvin Tomcak, her great grandchildren, Michaela Wiese (Dayton Veland), Marnie Wiese, Aleksi Thompson, Elsey Todd, Ellison Todd, EJ Todd, Brandon Tomcak, Nicholas Tomcak, and her great-great grandchildren, D’Kye Veland and D’Kaari Veland.

Leola Marilyn Cernusak Tomcak, known dearly by family as “Loly,” was born in Linwood, Nebraska on February 11th, 1933, to father Joseph Cernusak and mother Emma Kavan Cernusak, where she was raised on the family farm along with her six siblings: Evelyn, Leonard, Joseph, Arlene, Eddie, and Donnie. After the death of her mother, Leola, as the youngest of her siblings and at the young age of seven, was taken under care by her aunt Agnes and her eldest sister, Evelyn, the latter who quit her job in Omaha and returned to Linwood to care for her. During this time, Leola and her brother Donnie lived with Aunt Agnes during the winter months while attending school and spent summers under the care of Evelyn back at the family farm. Donnie and Leola were closest in age, and naturally very close to one another as siblings and playmates, Donnie often playing pranks on her and running around with her on the farm. Her love for animals started from this young age, surrounded always by the numerous farm animals on the property including the family dog and her pet pig, Porky, who sometimes snuck into her bed to sleep. She adored her eldest brother, Leonard, with whom she corresponded with in letters as he was serving overseas, and was inspired to paint from her sister Evelyn. Leola was exposed to card playing from all sides of the family, whether it be Aunt Ag’s regular Canasta nights, her father’s love of the Czech card game “Taroky” or her card games with the siblings at home.

Leola spent much of her days helping Evelyn and Arlene in the kitchen where she discovered her love for cooking and baking. During harvest time, she helped her sisters in the kitchen prepare what the farm-folk called “dinner” which was the meal served around noon to their father and brothers who were working the fields. Once dinner break was finished, Leola and her sisters already started preparing supper. She viewed the time spent in the kitchen with her sisters as a joyful experience rather than a chore, and it is here where she began developing one of her most prominent ways of showing love which she kept throughout her entire life until her death – the act of preparing a home cooked meal with so much love for the people she cared for. At the same time, her passion for gardening was developing. Together as a family, the Cernusaks grew their crops, canned and prepared their food for the winter, hunted, raised cattle for their meat, and smoked their meat on site. All the gardening and farming was done as a family. Exposed early on to the value of this self-sustainable lifestyle, and the importance of each family member pitching in and playing their role, Leola played her part even as a child by taking care of the vegetables and flowers in the family garden.

As years passed and Leola became a teenager, in the year 1947, fate came into play as the family hired a group of helpers on the farm during harvest time for “threshing,” a process in which grain is separated from the wheat plant with a threshing machine. One of these workers happened to be her future husband Louis “Lou” Tomcak, who at the time was around the age of nineteen and who’s family had rented out the next farmhouse down the way, owned by Leola’s relative, Jim Kavan. Leola and her sisters, tasked with preparing and serving the workers their meals during dinner break, were handing out the food when Leola and Lou first noticed one another. Leola hadn’t at the time realized anyone had yet moved into the house next door and had until that point not heard of Lou or his family, but there was an instant attraction to the new boy in town, and the feeling was mutual. The chemistry between the two must have been obvious enough for their friends, namely the Krizes, to make a point to tease them, as teenagers do, with a public exclamation of “oooo,” making Leola quite embarrassed. But she didn’t let her embarrassment stop her from contact with Lou moving forward, as she admitted later in life, she knew even that first day that he was the one. So as the harvest season went on, Leola being quite shy, the two conversed only briefly during Lou’s breaktime after supper. She started to look forward to supper time knowing she would see him again, becoming braver and getting to know him more each time they met. When the short harvest period, lasting around one to two weeks, came to an end, Leola found herself looking forward to the times their paths would cross in town on the weekends, whether it be at the local restaurants or out dancing to a live band at the Schuyler Oak Ballroom. By then, Leola’s three closest friends, Beverly, Marcine, and Janice, who knew the talk of the town, had been briefed on Leola’s introduction to Lou, and the word on the street in town was that he was a well suited, good Catholic boy. Lou lived up to that reputation by taking his courting process with Leola slowly over the next couple of years, as he was five years her senior. It was surprising the two got together, as Lou was known to be even more shy than Leola at this time. By the time he was set to leave for the service in 1951, the two were deeply in love.

Three months after Lou left for California, following her high school graduation, Leola made her way out west to visit him. Upon her arrival, the two were married on April 7th, 1951, in the Chapel of Treasure Island in San Francisco, and over the next three years, Lou and Leola lived in San Francisco, San Diego, and Hawaii, following Lou’s active duty and deployment locations. At the age of twenty, pregnant with their first child, Leola returned to Linwood in 1953 to live with her sisters, Evelyn and Arlene until Lou was discharged from the Navy the following year. Leola, with a young child, would travel from Linwood into Omaha to search for and view potential apartments. Upon Lou’s return in November of 1954, the two settled in Omaha, where they would raise their four children, Luanne, Michael, Mary, and Chris.

As Lou and Leola would take the kids often on weekends back to Linwood to visit family, they eventually bought a plot of land and brought in a trailer for a place of their own in 1973 around “Mo-ski-to Lake,” now known as “Smokey L Lake.” The family would arrive as soon as possible on Friday and return home to Omaha on Sunday evening. As visiting with family and friends was one of Leola’s biggest joys in her life, she loved being out at the trailer. They would often find their guest rooms full, as well as loved ones sleeping on couches and on floors wall to wall in sleeping bags and blankets with twenty-some people packed into a trailer designed for six. The kids with their cousins and friends even fell asleep some nights outside by the bonfire, waking up to a wet, early morning dew and an exciting new day filled with swimming, laughter, and sometimes even fireworks. Leola would plan, prepare, clean, and cook for everyone, taking care that all guests had what they needed, and as time passed and as “The Trailer,” or “The Sand Pit,” touched the hearts of family and friends throughout multiple generations, and as the number of guests grew, those acts of dedication and love from Leola remained constant. While others might run to the lake to cool off after a long July drive or drop their bags and relax with a cold drink, Leola’s first focus once arriving at the trailer was the weeds. The number of weeds on the property was overwhelming enough that from another’s eyes it might have seemed an impossibility to tackle, but Leola took it on as the first task upon arrival and she didn’t take a second to question the possibility of the job. She just did it, clearing out every Cottonwood seedling from the trailer to the water with the sounds of her loved ones chatting and laughing in the background. She was up early each morning working hard to prepare breakfast with love for every guest, whether it was family, a friend, or friend of a friend, or even someone she had just met, often for hours at a time as each guest woke up at different times throughout the span of the day. After a proper “Bohunk” night around the fire, the guests looked forward to her breakfast with bacon greased eggs, bacon, sausage and hashbrowns.

That is just one of countless testaments of Leola’s selflessness. She was giving, warm, and always welcoming, caring for everyone deeply. She lifted people up. Considered a mom by many, she treated all as family as she took in neighbors and friends of her children as her own. Family or not, she had a way of making each person in her life feel like the most important in the room. She cared deeply for others, always concerned with how she could help, and was available for that help day or night. It was known that if in a pinch, or just wanting a visit or moment to relax around the kitchen table, her front door was unlocked and she wouldn’t think twice, even late into the night hearing a visitor coming through the front door.

She showed her love in so many ways, but most notably through quality time she would spend together with each family member and friend, and through her thoughtful acts of kindness. She sat and took the time and energy to be present with her children, grandchildren, great, and great-great grandchildren and played, even getting down on the floor to do so after the age of ninety. She did fun projects and artistic crafts with the kids with an uncanny ability to make a toy out of anything, whether it be drums made from Quaker Oat cans or paper towels stacked as a makeshift bowling carnival game. When asked, Leola’s daughter Mary remembers her mom crafting her a pet pig Valentine’s box for school last minute which won her the top prize in creativity, but it wasn’t the box or the prize that kept this memory in Mary’s mind. It was the warmth she remembers feeling sitting with her mom while she worked on it with her and the care she put into it. Her son Chris remembers Canasta, Gin, and Rummy with his mom each day after school. Her son Mick remembers the cheesecake she’d bake him each Friday night while he watched his 7 O’clock western, The Wild Wild West. Her daughter Luanne remembers her reading Yertle the Turtle, speaking out the voices of different characters in such an animated way that they would laugh until they cried, and she often did laugh so hard she’d cry, having all in the room doing the same.

Leola was genuinely fun. Her laugh was infectious, and her smile was so warm that she didn’t have to speak - seeing her smile at you was enough to make you feel her love. Leola’s presence felt safe. She was light, fun loving and naturally funny and quick-witted with an ability to joke or make light of things instead of focusing on the bad. She was assertive when she needed to be, making it known if when she wanted something done and when, but she was never demanding. She didn’t demand respect, but those is her life showed it to her because that is what was always received from her. Her energy was calm, but her aura was strong. People were instantly drawn into her charms when meeting her. She didn’t speak much of herself, though those around her waited for the moment she would, as she was a genuinely interesting person with an interesting story. She was a talented painter, but not many would have known. Her paintings were stored away in a closet and rarely brought out. Leola’s focus was rarely on the past, but rather in the moment with those around her. She made people feel acknowledged and seen. Occasionally she would let out a few facts about herself and those were always special moments for those involved.

Leola made birthdays, get-togethers and holidays magical, often surprising people by making their favorite meals and dessert or making costumes for the kids on Halloween. She knew how to make her loved ones feel special. She was not an angry person – it took a lot to bring her to anger and it was rare, but when she got to that point, she stood up for herself and let her thoughts be known. But she didn’t hold a grudge. It would be hard to imagine something one could do to be excommunicated from Leola and from the Tomcak family. She rarely spoke a negative word about others. She didn’t worry about the small things, and she accepted people as they were. She didn’t push others but let them do their own thing. She was kind, patient, and soft, and didn’t make others feel nervous or judged. There was a feeling when around her that you could talk to her about anything. She was trustworthy and a loyal confidant.

Leola was naturally artistic. If you brought a project to her last minute, she would find a way to make it creative without feeling stress or pressure. She was an amazing cook, loved reading through her cookbooks to find new recipes to try, known for her famous spaghetti and meatballs, fried chicken with homemade mashed potatoes, oyster stuffing during Thanksgiving, and her traditional Czech dumplings and green bean gravy.

Playing cards and dice was such second nature to Leola that saying she loved it would not be quite right - it was part of her upbringing and a strong part of her character throughout the entirety of her life. It was uncommon for a visit with friends or family to not break out in a game, and even through older age, she was too often the winner, yelling out her iconic shriek, almost involuntarily, when she rolled a Yahtzee or something alike. During games is when the reserved, soft-spoken version of Leola could be easily overpowered with a louder, more competitive version of herself that was exciting to experience. The kitchen table would become loud and chaotic with all in the room either cheering her on or in jest accusing her of cheating after winning too many games in a row.

These endless hours sitting around chatting and laughing and playing games together with her loved ones are a testament to her values which she instilled in her children and grandchildren. She had a way of conveying these things without needing to express herself with words. She acted out her values in her day-to-day life. Family was first, the simple things were the most rewarding to her. It didn’t take much more than being with family and good friends to make her happy. She was thankful for the life she had, and it was rare to hear her complain. She led her children by example. When other families took vacations, the kids didn't think twice or feel they were lacking in any way, because the trailer felt like a vacation to them every weekend. That was where they wanted to be, with everything they needed being in arm’s reach: the lake, bonfires, good food and family and friends to share it all with. Even in the times where Leola didn’t have much, she was resourceful and conservative with her spending to make ends meet for her family, living simply but well, still providing fresh and healthy home-cooked meals made with love for her kids. She was independent and self-sustainable, growing, cooking, and canning her own food. Her gardening wasn’t just a practicality but an art form. She was particular and one could even say a perfectionist. She was handy and hardworking, refurnishing furniture, painting and making repairs in the house, even cleaning the floors on her hands and knees.

When her sons and daughters were asked what it felt like to spend time around Leola, the consensus seemed to be “I don’t know, just a good feeling,” followed by a short pause, then an endless listing off of memories and examples of what they loved and appreciated about her – reasons for that feeling. It's a hard task to choose just one or two stories, memories, or qualities of Leola to highlight or even have the task of putting those into words, because the love she showed to her family and friends wasn’t conveyed through a certain day or event, but consistently throughout her entire life in her relationships and day-to-day life. There aren’t exact words to describe that. It is a feeling, and one that is familiar to those who knew her.

Leola’s devotion for her family and friends was unmatched. Her aura, her character, her fun-loving spirit, the way she raised her family with so much warmth and love, her influence - none of it will be forgotten but will live on in her family for generations to come. She will be deeply missed by all.

We will think of her every time we pull out a set of dice or a deck of cards, when we see beautiful flowers or sit down together around the kitchen table for a big breakfast or late-night coffee. We’ll think of her when cooking her recipes and when seeing her in the faces of our kids and our grandkids. We will miss her on holidays, but also the days in between. It’s not just these things mentioned that will remind us of Leola, Loly, Lee, mom, ma, Grandma Lee, GG LeeLee. We will see her in everything. The page could go on and it would feel like it’s still not enough to capture the totality of it all - her life and what impact it had on us all and will continue to have as we pass on her invaluable traits and values to the ones we love. When we think of how many lives have been touched and changed for the good because of Leola and the way she chose to live her life, we can only say:

Thank you, we love you, we appreciate you and all that you’ve done. For all that you’ve given us. We will miss you forever