Services
Obituary
Cheryl “Cheri” Tomke, 76, of Clarion, passed away on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at Iowa Specialty Hospital in Clarion.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 AM on Monday, June 30, 2025, at St. John’s Catholic Church, 608 2nd Avenue Northeast in Clarion. Burial will be in St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in Clarion.
Visitation will be held from 9:00 – 10:30 AM prior to services at the church on Monday. Scriptural Vigil service will held at 9:30 AM.
Memorials may be directed to St. John’s Catholic Church or to Heartland Museum in Clarion.
Cheryl "Cheri" Lee Tomke was born at Hampton, Iowa on June 17, 1949 and was the only child of Joseph R. and Irma (Evans) Tomke of Clarion. In her youth, Cheri was active in Camp Fire Girls and 4-H. She graduated from Clarion Public High School in 1967 and earned a B.A. degree at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa with a major in English and a teaching degree in Secondary Education.
Cheri worked at three area churches (Methodist, Presbyterian, and Catholic) as a secretary before entering the teaching profession. She taught Junior High and Senior High School English (and a variety of other subjects and extra curricular activities) for a number of years, two of which were in Clarion. She had been a certified speech judge for six years.
Loving Clarion as she did, Cheri returned home when her father became ill and once again became a secretary for three churches (Dows Presbyterian Church, Clarion Presbyterian Church and St. John's Catholic Church). She retired in 2008 from St. John's after 20+ years of service.
She enjoyed working with young people and taught Religious Education classes for 10 years. Cheri had been an active member of St. John's Catholic Church as a Lay Minister and served on the Liturgy Committee. She also belonged to the American Legion Auxiliary.
Cheri is preceded in death by her parents.