Surnames: Tobola

----Source: Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, Wis.) 31 March 2007

Tobola, Helen (7 July 1914 - 29 March 2007)

Helen Tobola

Helen Tobola, 92, of Cadott passed away Thursday, March 29, 2007, at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire. She was a resident of the Chippewa Manor Nursing Home in Chippewa Falls.

She was born July 7, 1914, in Thorp to the late Melvin and Grace Boardman. She was one of 11 children. Her grandfather, Ephiran Boardman, was the first white settler in Thorp. She attended Thorp schools, graduating in 1931 as valedictorian of her high school class. She then attended Milwaukee County School of Nursing, graduating as a registered nurse in 1935.

Helen married James Rowan in 1935 at St. Catherine’s Catholic church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She continued nursing at Milwaukee County Hospital until the death of her husband in 1940.

Helen moved to Thorp with her three children, and worked at Victory Hospital in Stanley, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls and the Cadott Medical Center during her long nursing career. Helen married Thomas Tobola at St. Bernard’s Catholic church in Thorp in 1947. They then moved to Cadott where Tom owned and operated a Ford dealership. She was a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic church in Cadott, the Cadott Historical Society, Cadott Women’s club and St. Anne’s Circle.

Helen was preceded in death by her first husband, James Rowan; her late husband, Tom Tobola; and her daughter, Mary Jane Cebulla; brothers, Earl Boardman, Jack (Connie) Boardman, Louis and wife Ethel Boardman, Donald (Vi) Boardman, Roger (Cris) Boardman, Bill (Jan) Boardman; and a sister, Ruth (Ed) Mayer.

Survivors include two children, James (Jeanne) Rowan of Plymouth, Wis., and John (Susan) Rowan of Bartlett, Tenn. She is also survived by nine grandchildren, Kathy (Scott) Koenen of La Crosse, Kelly (Mark) Landgraf of Elkhart Lake, Karen (Jim) Lieser of Sheboygan, Kris (Mark) Roubik of La Crosse, Marie (Joe) Burns of Plover, Debbie (Jim) Sonnentag of Boltonville, Ark., Paul Rowan of Waupaca, Steven Rowan (Stacy) of Beach Park, Ill., and Thomas Cebulla Jr. of Austin, Texas; three sisters, Daisy (Walter) Koltis of Thorp, Cora (John) Kaminski of Milwaukee and Dorthy Walker of San Francisco, Calif.; former son-in-law, Thomas (Joan) Cebulla of Anoka, Minn.; and 21 great grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Cadott on Monday, April 2, 2007, at noon. Officiating will be Fr. Donald Bauer. Lunch will follow the funeral Mass, with interment to follow at St. Hedwig’s Catholic Cemetery in Thorp.

Friends may call at the Leiser Funeral Home in Cadott from 10 to 11:30 a.m. prior to the services on Monday.

Helen was very proud of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for their personal achievements and educational pursuits. She will be dearly missed by all of them.

A memorial fund has been established in Helen’s name for St. Rose of Lima Church and the Cadott Historical Society.

The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses at Sacred Heart Hospital, and the Chippewa Manor Nursing Home for the excellent care she received during her last three years of residency.