John Joseph Tohill

John Joseph Tohill, a resident of Somerset, Ky. died on August 21st, 2008 in Denville, N.J. while visiting relatives. He was born on January 3, 1920 in Somerset, Ky. Mr. Tohill attended high school and one year of college at St. Bernard Preperatory School in Cullman, Alabama. He left school to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Force just after Pearl Harbor. He served four years (January 1942-January 1946) during World War II as a surgical technician and member of an air evacuation flight team where he was initially stationed at Palm Springs, Cal. It was there that he met his wife, Dorothy, who was assigned to the same unit. He completed his military service as a Staff Sergeant assigned to the Asiatic Pacific Theater, stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska. John worked for the U.S. Postal Service, beginning in April 1939 as a substitute letter carrier. Following his military discharge, he returned to the Postal Service in Somerset, eventually serving as Assistant Postmaster for five years and Postmaster for 15 years. He retired in 1979. John’s many civic contributions include serving as president of the local chapter of the American Red Cross and board member of the downtown YMCA. He participated in founding the United Way of South Central Kentucky, serving as Vice-President and then President of the organization. He was also president of Somerset Little League Baseball in 1962 and Babe Ruth Baseball from 1963-1965. During his tenure, the 1964 Somerset Babe Ruth All-Star team won the state championship, the first athletic team in Pulaski County to win a state title. John was very involved in the Somerset Rotary Club. He served as President of the local club and also District Governor of Rotary International District 674. He was honored by the Rotary Club with a lifetime membership and by the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce for leadership in community activities. This honor followed his service as Chairman of a fund drive that raised more than half a million dollars for the downtown YMCA. John also served a four-year term on the Board of Directors of Humana Hospital Lake Cumberland. His last year of service there (1992-1993) was as chairperson of the Board. In addition to his many civic contributions, John was very involved in his church. At the time of his death, he was the longest standing member of St. Mildred Catholic Church in Somerset, having been baptized in 1920 in the original church building on High Street. As a lay leader in the church, John served as both song leader and choir director, which included directing a Gregorian Chant choir. In 1981, John was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Church. After 10 years of retirement, John and his wife, Dorothy, responded to a call to direct St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Monticello, KY. The church was in danger of being closed due to the shortage of priests. John and Dorothy served St. Peter’s as Pastoral Directors for nine years, and John was a past president of the Wayne County Association of Ministers. John was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Dorothy Mae “Dottie” Graff Tohill; his parents, John and Mary Catherine Tohill; two brothers, Leo Tohill and Mike Tohill and one son; John Joseph Tohill Jr. John is survived by three daughters, Mary T. Yeiser, Winchester, Ky., Dorothy (Duff) Clark, Somerset, Ky., and Jean Marie Lessing, Los Angeles, Ca; two sons, Donald Tohill, Winchester, Ky. and Dr. Thomas A. Tohill, Somerset, Ky; two brothers, James Tohill, Nashville, Tn. and Bill Tohill, Alexandria, Va.; three sisters, Eileen Loicano, Denville, N.J., Louise Ross, Alexandria, Va., Margaret Ruddle, Seattle, Wash.; grandchildren, Kim Ann Davis, Milwood, Va., Mark Davis, Paris, Ky., Kirt Yeiser, Oak Harbor, Wash., Therese Smith, Winchester, Ky., Mary Catherine Adamson, Madisonville, Ky., Michael Tohill, Waxhaw, N.C., Ryan Tohill, Indianapolis, Ind., Jessica Tohill, Orlando, Fla., Taylor Tohill, Lexington, Ky., Kathryn Tohill, Lexington, Ky., Erin Kilcoyne, Louisville, Ky., Kerri Brooks, Somerset, Ky., and Alex Lessing, Los Angeles, Cal.; and five great grandchildren. John was a kind Christian man who will be greatly missed by all who knew him and he leaves a host of relatives, friends, and church family who mourn his passing. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at St. Mildred’s Catholic Church. Burial will follow in the Mill Springs National Cemetery at Nancy with military honors conducted at the graveside by the American Legion Post #38. The family will receive friends at St. Mildred Catholic Church, 203 S. Central Avenue, Somerset, Ky., from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, August 26, 2008. The family requests expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to the American Red Cross, 155 Enterprise Dr., Somerset, Ky. 42501-6155. Pulaski Funeral Home is honored to be in charge of all funeral arrangements for Mr. John J. Tohill.