Edna May Tomevi

Funeral services for Edna May Tomevi, 91, of Panama will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at the Panama United Methodist Church, the Rev. Dave Trover officiating. Burial will be at Union Cemetery, Panama.

Friends may call at the church Saturday for one hour prior to the service. Perfetti Funeral Home, Panama, is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Tomevi died shortly before 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 21, 2007, at Fair Oaks Nursing Home in Greenville.

She was born Oct. 30, 1915, at Ladysmith, B.C., Canada, daughter of the late Henry and Mary Jane (Marrs) Frickleton. She moved to Illinois with her family in 1922 and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1933.

Before her marriage, Mrs. Tomevi was employed in St. Louis for several years. After marrying Henry C. Tomevi at the Presbyterian parsonage in Hillsboro on Oct. 16, 1935, she became a homemaker and also was employed at the dress factory in Hillsboro.

She was clerk of the Panama Post Office for 35 years, retiring in 1980.

Mrs. Tomevi was a long-time member and volunteer at Panama United Methodist Church. She taught Sunday School for 55 years and served as treasurer for the church and the women's group for many years.

She was active in the women's Willing Workers Society at the church. The group made over 100 quilts for babies born to Panama residents.

Mrs. Tomevi and her husband spent many years as volunteer workers on behalf of the church. From stokinhg the furnace with coal in the early day to clearing snow off the steps, their chores also included painting and cleaning.

They both moved to Fair Oaks Nursing Home in Greenville in December 2005. Mr. Tomevi died there on Feb. 12, 2006, after 70 years of marriage. Mrs. Tomevi continued to be active in church services at the nursing home and taught a Saturday morning Bible study there.

She leaves a daughter, Conda J. (husband Douglas) Martin of Panama; a daughter-in-law, Alcinda Tomevi of Holiday Shores; four grandchildren, Dawn (husband Michael) Hamby of Hillsboro, Sharon (husband Duane) Mollett of Panama, Gregory (wife Cindy) Tomevi of York, PA, and Gary Bruce (wife Denise) Tomevi of Flemington, NJ.

Also surviving are seven great-grandchildren, Justin, Jennifer, Jonathan, Jeffrey and Michelle Tomevi, Tyler Lee Hamby and Dustin Henry Duane Mollett; and one sister, Rita J. Kurtz of Omaha, NE.

Preceding Mrs. Tomevi in death were her only son, Gary Allen Tomevi; daughter-in-law, Nancy Tomevi; two sisters, Catherine Ross and Elizabeth Anderson; and two brothers, Samuel and Herbert Frickleton.

The family suggests memorials to the Salvation Army as Mrs. Tomevi was chairman of the Panama Unit for many years.