Obituary of Norman Edward Tober

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.