Ancestral Histories

Robert Ludwig Tomsik (24 May 1909- 12 September 1979)

Robert Ludwig Tomsik was the first of eight children born to Ludwig Albert and Hannah Deady. He was born at home in Salt Lake City, Utah on 24 May 1909.  Their family moved around a lot when he was young because his father worked on the railroad. They lived in Cassia County, ID when his next two siblings, Edward and Wayne, were born in 1911 and 1913; then they were in Washington, UT when two more children, Mary and Irene, were born in 1917 and 1919.  Their next child, Marcella, was born in Milford, UT in 1921. Then in Minersville, UT Albert was born in 1924. Then they moved onto a farm in Milford two years later where Ludwig raised chickens, turkeys, cows and geese and the last child, Pauline, was born in 1926. 

By the time that they were back in Milford, Robert was in High School and would always drive the rest of the siblings to school and then would drive them home after he got off work at a cleaning plant. During High School he played on the Basketball team and played the French horn in the school band. He would also take his siblings out for drives sometimes just for fun, one time Robert took his younger siblings out for a long drive when his mother was expecting their youngest, and when they got back from the drive the baby was born. As the oldest, Robert took on a lot of responsibility with the family.  Once his sister Irene was learning to sew a quilt and got the needle stuck straight through her finger, their mother called Robert and he had to rush home and pull the needle out with a pair of pliers!

Robert spent most of his life in that little railroad town of Milford, he graduated High School in 1929 the same year as Verna Bird whom he had been dating for a long time and they were married on 18 May 1931.  Verna purposely broke a rule in school which made her stay back a year, so that they would graduate together. When they got engaged Verna worked at the phone company as a phone operator; Robert had gone to visit her and was jokingly saying to her coworker, “so did you hear we we’re getting married?”, Verna played along with it, but he was actually serious, but all he had for a ring at the time was a cigarette band, which he gave her as an engagement ring, at least for the moment. Verna’s father was a bishop in the town and he married them in his home “for no other young man would do.”

 In 1938, Ludwig Albert died in a car accident, so Robert was 29. Robert made sure to take care of the family after that. He provided Christmas for his siblings, and was very caring and provided a lot for them.

 When WWII broke out he didn’t have to serve because his job at the garage was considered a vital service; he was a mechanic, and provided gas for people, so he didn’t have to serve in the military. 

He worked for a Bill Nichols, who was the original owner of the garage that Robert later bought after living in Las Vegas for a short time repairing slot machines. He called the garage, Bob Tomsik Service garage, and he ran that for 40 years. There was a sign out front that read, “Welcome- We’ll do our best to earn your confidence”.  He was one of the nicest people ever, would never hurt anyone on purpose. He Served and worked 24/7; If people needed their car fixed he would stay up all night to fix them.  He would stay up all night running their coal furnace, when he first started off. Robert developed that garage into a very successful Pontiac dealership as well and he was also an International Harvester truck and farm equipment salesman.

 In 1957, they drove back east to pick up an international harvester.  They stopped on their way back in Chicago, the museum of science and industry, and then they went to the airport and got a joy ride in a single engine plane around Chicago.  Robert had always wanted to be a pilot, but his wife wouldn’t let him because his younger brother died in a plane crash. Sometimes they would take the train from Milford to Salt Lake to pick up new vehicles and they would drive the car back. Robert would play the harmonica while they were traveling, and Verna and all the kids would sing along.

They had five children together; Vera, Bonnie, Shirley, Robert Edward, and Gary.  They loved their children and always provided for them. They owned two houses in Milford; they lived in one and rented out the other. Robert would take his sons out hunting for pheasants and deer every year, and did some fishing as well, but not as often.

He was a member of the Lion’s Club later in life as well as Senior Citizens, both he and Verna were very involved, she serving as the program director for the Senior Citizens.  It was while participating in activities with these groups that they died on September 12, 1979.  They were driving in a van on their way to Salt Lake City when they hit a hay swather and were killed, but they died together and they left behind a strong family.

 

Eunice Parry Harris (31 October 1926- 10 February 1998)

Eunice Parry was born on 31 October 1926 to Bernard Harmon and Ellareave Christine Petersen and raised in Manti, UT, which is where her family had been for quite some time.  She was their second child out of six; two brothers and three sisters.

She was a great student; she won lots of scholarly awards in school. She loved to read. She was a statue of liberty in a school play.

She would go fishing with her Grandma in a stream that was nearby. That’s where she learned her love of fishing.

Their family wasn’t very well off so her mother would make her bloomers out of potato or flour sacks. One time she was going down a slide and was humiliated because the other kids saw that the brand name was on her underwear and made fun of her after that.

Eunice was babysitting one night and told the family she would walk home, and they told her to be careful because there was a strange man with a peg leg in town.  As she was walking home she heard someone behind her and she said that she had never been able to run so fast or jump so high until that moment or since then.

She met Gordon C Harris in Junior High, and he was best friends with Eunice’s Uncle. Her Uncle introduced them, and they became high school sweethearts. When he was in the Navy, he sent her an engagement ring in the mail and that’s how he proposed. When Gordon came into port after the war, she took a bus all by herself from Manti to Los Angeles, covered in hives because she was so nervous, so that they could be married.  They soon found out that the Manti temple was going to be open again, after being closed for the war so as wedding gifts they were given gas rations so that they could drive to the Manti temple to get sealed. 

Gordon had been accepted to the University of Utah, he wanted to be a doctor, but when they got there the home owners said that they couldn’t stay because housing was scarce after the war. So they moved into an apartment above Thurston’s Five and Dime in Manti, and served fountain drinks. 

They only lived there a few months before they moved back to California

When she was ready to give birth to her first son, David, the nurses had left her in the room by herself and as she was waiting she felt the contractions getting closer together. She stood up to try and get to the door and the baby started to come faster, she squatted and was yelling out for help. The nurse told her later that she had heard a voice, when no one was around telling her to go check on Mrs. Harris and when she checked was when she was in trouble. Eunice had two Great-aunts that were both spinsters, Harriet and Emma.  One died just a few minutes before David was born; she is positive that it was her voice that had spoken to that nurse.

They lived for many years in North Hollywood, CA where Gordon worked for Lockheed and Northrop Grumman. They had four other children; John (who died as an infant), Cathryn, Doug, and Paul. They only moved once all of their children were out of the house, though many were still in the area. 

Together Eunice and Gordon did quite a bit of traveling. They visited Japan, and they also did a tour in Jerusalem and a tour of Church History sites.  They were also very faithful workers in the Los Angeles Temple and actually served service missions there.  That is probably one of the hallmarks of her life, the temple.

They were living in Valencia, CA when Eunice passed away on 10 February 1998. She went into a coma after having a heart attack, but didn’t ever recover.  As her spirit went home, so did her body as she was buried in the Manti Cemetery, just below the temple; and I’m sure she is continuing her work on the other side of the veil.