Norman E. Tober, Jr., 84 died at home in Almond, NY, July
15, 2019. Born in Buffalo, New York, on December 5, 1934, Norm was the son of
Norman E. Tober Sr. and Stephanie (Chichowicz), who predeceased him. He had one
brother, Kenneth R. Tober, who also predeceased him.
A Korean War Veteran,
Norm served in the United States Air Force from 1953-1957. He met and married
Lena (Wingert), his wife of 62 years in Tacoma, Washington.
Throughout his life,
Norm worked as a draftsman/design engineer for Boeing. He was especially proud
of his contributions to the landing gear design for the 767. Norm also worked
for Xerox, Corning Inc., and Alstom, in addition to teaching drafting at the college
level.
Norm enjoyed numerous
passions. Ping-pong was one of those passions, and he shared that passion with
his children as well as his love for roller skating, bowling, and dancing. Norm
served as a Boy Scouts leader and was president of the Vashon Island
Sportsman’s Club for a number of years. He was an avid horseman and enjoyed
competitive riding. He loved working the land, eventually purchasing a 500-acre
farm, raising his own beef and designing and building his family home. Norm
actively served in the churches in each of his communities in the Awana youth
programs and was a deacon at Bridge Community Church on Harstine Island,
Washington. Most recently, Norm was a member of Hillside Baptist Church in
Hornell, New York.
Norm is survived by
his wife, Lena, who cared for Norm tirelessly while he struggled with dementia
over the last years of his life. Norm was always grateful to be able to remain
at home with her help. In addition to his wife, Norm is survived by his six
children: Gwyn (Dale) Betz, of Almond, NY, Norman E. (Daryl) Tober III of
Pahrump, Nevada, Katherine (Kevin) Lewis of Arkport, NY, Valerie Tober, of
Almond, NY, Rosalyn (Richard) Ballman of Tallahassee, Florida, and Brett
(Angela) Tober, of Shallotte, NC. In addition to his children, Norm had 16
grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren. Norm and Lena hosted 20 foreign
exchange students. They remained in contact with several of their foreign
children, including Britta Kungney, of Germany, Toshie Nishimori, of Japan,
Helena Haavisto, of Finland, Aika Aitbaeva, of Kyrgyzstan, Sveki Drasner,
Croatia, and Sabine Scheufele of Germany. Norm and Lena also contributed to the
lives of numerous foster children both in New York and Washington.
The family will hold
a viewing at 12:30 p.m. at Bender-Brown and Powers Funeral Home in Hornell, NY,
on Monday, July 22, 2019, with a service to follow at Bath National Cemetery
with full military honors at 2 p.m. with Pastor Craig Brittingham, officiating.
To send a remembrance
please visit www.brownandpowersfuneralhomes.com, or on Facebook @brownpowerfh,
the family is being assisted by director Chester A. Gosper IV.
