Eulogy of Tom Tomera March 19, 1949-September 22, 2021
An Italian rancher who sported a handlebar mustache, made a legacy out of the Nevada desert, and lived a life bigger than life itself.
Thomas Joseph Tomera came into this world in spectacular fashion on March 19, 1949. Being a breech birth, his mother, Malfisa Bianucci Tomera, and father Julian had to seek medical help in Carlin. They drove in from the Stonehouse Ranch in Pine Valley and stayed with Malfisa’s parents. Growing up, Little Tommy could be found dragging around a red wagon full of cats with his sister Juliana or horseback with his brother, Pete. What he lacked in stature he made up in strength and was not one to be left behind. The Tomera kids attended school at Palisades and spent time in Carlin with their cousins, the Bianuccis. Tom had memories of running down the halls the Overland Hotel owned by his Grandpa Pete and picnics in the backyard of the house on Main Street with Grandma Amelia.
In 1959 the Tomera family moved to the South Fork Ranch near Elko. He would attend Grammar #1 and Elko High School. During his school years he made lots of friends including Steve McDermott and Billy Scott and their shenanigans and pranks were legendary! Back at the ranch Tom, Pete, and Juliana had real western experiences of their own. The kids would go fishing off the south fork bridge or wade around collecting crawdads. Tom would ride his bike through the brush to wrangle in the sheep every night and everyday he mumbled and grumbled about how much he hated milking cows! The Tomera family grew by two more children while at the South Fork, Lucy and Eleanor. Keep in mind this was before the time of crew cab pickups and gooseneck trailers. Lucy recalls that they had a single cab International stock truck. Only three people could fit inside the cab and the rest of us had to ride outside on the top. Tom always took extra care of her making sure she sat between Pete and himself so she wouldn’t fall off! During the cold months Tom would tie the bottom of her pant legs with twine so the wind wouldn’t blow up them as they drove down the highway. Being himself, Tom loved to tease his sisters. From offering them Copenhagen to hanging Eleanor’s purple monkey from the chandelier he was always joking with them, something he would continue well into adulthood! Tom joined the Army National Guard, and it was there that he met many of his lifelong friends. Bill Bauman, Eddie King, Bill Horn, Jim Ardans, Paul Anderson, Danny Lamb, Leroy Sestanovich, and Dave Slagowski, to name few. Tom traveled to Fort Knox in Kentucky for basic training, then onto Boise, Idaho. The humidity of Kentucky was not something he ever wanted to experience again. The stories from this time in his life were legendary, never told the same way twice! He shared how he almost drowned in the Snake River because he didn’t know how to swim, cooking steaks on top of a sagebrush, and the time he was almost murdered by the biggest man in camp when he threw a snake on his shoulder!
In 1977 Tom married Patsy at the Presbyterian Church in Lamoille. They would work side by side on the ranches for the next forty-four years. Patsy’s three children joined them on the ranch and Tom had a crew ready to work. Susan was born in 1979 and Sabrina in 1981. Tom, Patsy, and the kids moved to the Stonehouse Ranch in Pine Valley in 1982 after the South Fork Ranch was sold to make room for the new reservoir. Tom felt as though he was finally home. With each life change he gained evermore experiences for his stories. We didn’t know it yet, but he would take a little homestead ranch and grow it into a legacy. Anything he set his mind too was achieved and if it failed, he would redesign it until it worked. He didn’t have much in the beginning, but when he finally did, he was willing to support family and friends by giving them a leg on their dreams by quietly helping any way he and Patsy could. Tom loved the ranch and the life he was born to live. Springtime brandings with neighbors were his favorite. It was like he waited all winter thinking up new jokes to tell or stories to remember. An abyss of local history he could recount with vivid detail dates, names, and places of past experiences. Every trip in the pick-up hauling salt was like a guided tour. An avid hunter Tom not only hunted mule deer and antelope but took two very memorable trips in his life. The first was an elk hunting trip to Wyoming. Todd Schwandt, Jace Agee, Joe Wines, Dick Jones, and Jim Bailey made up his hunting party. Tom and Jim had decided to scout out on their own and found a real nice waller. While they were hiking around the Yellowstone area, they remembered that everyone had warned them to be wary of the cow moose that time of year. Notoriously protective 12 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
mothers they would kill a man! As Little Tommy and Big Jim were making their way across an open glen a female moose approached them. She let out the most god-awful beller and charged. She sent chills down their spines and lit a fire in their asses! They looked for cover, but the only thing there was a scrawny spindly lodge pole pine tree. Tom lit out for the tree with Big Jim hot on his heels. Literally. Jim kept stepping on Tom telling him faster, faster! Tom grabbed the tree. Jim grabbed Tom and they both turned to face their fate! Only to find the moose was not behind them and had disappeared! Tom’s trip to Quebec, Canada caribou hunting was another tale he loved to share. A true-life experience for a rancher from Nevada. Todd and Tom left Elko together and Tom talked the ENTIRE TRIP. There were so many caribou that Tom got carried away and filled his tag in the first ten minutes! They spent the rest of their days in camp drinking whiskey and making friends!
Blessed with the gift of conversation Tom never knew a stranger; only a friend he had not yet met. The family jokes that he would talk to ANYONE if they stood there long enough. That friendliness to everyone gave him acquaintances from all walks of life. It also made serving in the community easy for him. The Grazing Board, Humboldt Water Authority, and other committees weren’t just meetings, but a chance to catch up with old friends. A member of the Pine Valley Volunteer Fire Department he helped countless people in their greatest time of need. He also cut miles of fire lines in his D4 CAT alongside Will Johnson, Roger Curry, and Tom Turk. Tom and his family were instrumental in the development of the team branding competitions still held in Eureka and Elko Counties.
“Tommisms” were not only tidbits of friendly advice, but an opinion or a sound bite. Most of which can’t be repeated in mixed company! We could all recount one or a dozen that stick in our heads. “You can be good looking or have hair, but you can’t have both.”, “Perfecto Antonio”, or “Bass Ackwards”. Nicknames were a trademark of Toms. He loved to hand them out. Roan Dog, Big Cook, Becky, Booty, Balki, Punky Sue, BamBam, Pooh Bear, Bim Todd, Hot Lips, and Dr. Quinn to name a few. He had acquired names for himself as well: Little Tommy, Father Mouse, and Fred! Tom was fluent in three languages: English, Italian sign language, and profanity. If you happened to come across his notoriously short temper you might experience all three, simultaneously!! He was a gifted rancher. Witching water wells, reading earmarks and irons, and “knowing” his cattle. Rebuilding, designing, and creating equipment to make work easier was a skill he had practiced since his youth. One-of-a-kind designs from the hydraulic turn table chute to tandem axle one-ton balers, converting salvaged goods into functional equipment. A junk pile to some was considered “inventory” to Tom. Patsy says Tom had four loves in his life: his cows, her, his dogs, and his barn cats. In that order. We all knew our place with Tommy. The family even gave up their seats in the pick-up for his dogs, except for Patsy. His financial philosophy was “invest in dirt and diamonds”. “Dirt for me and diamonds for Patsy.” His cattle were sold as far away as Iowa and his barn cats shipped all over the West! It was easy to see where Tom’s heart truly laid; it belonged to his family. An enormous source of pride to him, he enjoyed helping, teaching, and watching them grow. His “girls” he would say “could work harder than most men, easier on the equipment, and were easier on the eyes.” Papa Tom as he was known to the grandkids would hold babies, wiggling his moustache to make them laugh, or make funny faces in his tractor to help their days go by faster. The kids were surprised at his “online presence” when they recently Googled his name and the large cache of photos, videos, and stories it produced! He was famous!
The Tomera name is synonymous with hard work. It was this ethic that is Tom’s legacy. It is there in the beautiful ranches, his loving family, and the impression he made on so many lives. As we go forward without him remember his work. Remember it in his stories, the jokes, and the satisfying feeling of a good day’s work. You will always be remembered. Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Julian and Malfisa Tomera and sister, Juliana Diaz. He is survived by his loving wife Patsy, daughters: Susan Tomera, Sabrina ( John) Reed, Samantha (Wayne) Anderson. Sons: Jeremy (Shellie) Schwandt and Todd Schwandt. Sisters: Eleanor O’Donnell and Lucy (Gordie) Miller and brother: Pete (Lynn) Tomera. Tom was blessed with six grandsons, four granddaughters, and three great grandchildren. Tom was laid to rest during the first week of October at the ranch in Pine Valley.
The Progressive Rancher
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