John M. Thoma

John M. Thoma, Sr., 88, residing in Westfield, IN; formerly of Elkhart, passed away Saturday morning, October 22, 2022 in Westfield.

He was born March 5, 1934 in South Bend, a son of the late Andrew L. Thoma, Sr., and Elmo Craft Thoma, and lived in this area most of his life.

On February 1, 1958 in South Bend, John was united in marriage to Charlotte Simpson. Together, they enjoyed 57 years of marriage until her passing on March 7, 2015.

John is survived by his four sons, John (Mary) Thoma, Jr. of Westfield, IN; Michael (Elsie) Thoma of Lafayette, IN; Kenneth (Amy Holzhausen) Thoma of Austin, TX; and David (Dana) Thoma of Panama City Beach, FL. Also surviving are five grandchildren, Michael (Leah) Thoma of Noblesville, IN: Paul (Brittany) Thoma of Carmel, IN; Jacob (Kylee Rippy) Thoma of Carmel, IN; Ryan (Sarah) Thoma of Lafayette, IN; and Eric Thoma of New York, NY; along with four great-grandchildren.

Along with his parents and wife, John was preceded in death by two sisters, Margarite Lambert, and Evelyn VanSyock, and two brothers, a baby brother, and Andrew Thoma, Jr.

John worked at International Harvester in South Bend until 1970. Then move to one of International Harvester's largest distributors, Russ Upson Company in Elkhart, working there until the mid-1980’s, before joining Bock Products in Elkhart. John proudly served for his country in the United States Marine Corp, and a Korean War Veteran.

John, enjoyed his time by regularly visiting Oxbow Park, putting in many miles of walking and running. He enjoyed seeing the wildlife and visiting with people & the Rangers at the Park. He was a regular at the local Dunlap library branch.

Services for John will be at 2:00 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at the Palmer Funeral Home-Guisinger Chapel, 3718 South Michigan St., South Bend, with Rev. Jim Ward officiating. Graveside services and military honors will follow at Southlawn Cemetery, South Bend. The family will receive friends from noon – 2:00 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com

10/26/2022 EJS