Bea & Wally Tomaska  Create Scholarship Fund Through Gift in Will

Bea and Wally Tomaska

Neither Bea nor Wally Tomaska attended North Park University, but they always believed in Christian education. After Wally’s death in 2000, Bea decided to “leave a legacy at a Christian college,” says Sean O’Malley, their financial advisor. After exploring schools, Bea chose North Park University for a gift in her will.

Bea died in 2013 at the age of 93, and her will established the Vladimer and Bertha Tomaska Memorial Scholarship Fund.

“Bea lived a very significant life,” notes Mary K. Surridge, vice president for development and alumni relations. “We are grateful that North Park’s strong reputation as a Christian university earned Bea’s trust to carry on what she and Wally loved so much: the gift of education.”

Bea and Wally Tomaska on their Wedding Day, 1950

Bea and Wally shared a passion for learning. Wally served as assistant principal at Chicago’s Darwin Elementary School. Bea enrolled in many evening courses at Northwestern University to explore her eclectic interests, ranging from business to interior design.

Bea was a tough cookie, O’Malley says. She thrived in the workplace in the 1960s in the field of purchasing for the former International Minerals & Chemical Corporation. Three months into a six-month trial test as an assistant buyer, Bea was named a full buyer and went on to have a distinguished business career.

Bea and Wally worshipped at Trinity Slovak Lutheran Church in the Sauganash neighborhood of Chicago, where they were married in May of 1950. With no children of their own, the Tomaskas ran a summer camp for kids for many years, imparting to the children their lifelong love of learning—a legacy that continues with the scholarship at North Park.