Toivo E. Luoma

Toivo E. Luoma, age 101, of Chatham, died on Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at Brookridge Assisted Living in Marquette. He was born on March 2, 1925 to Solomon and Selma (Torma) Luoma on their farm near Chatham, Michigan. Toivo was the fifth of six children and at the age of three his mother passed away. From this point onward, he learned resilience and the values of hard work and self-reliance. Toivo gained a special talent of making beautiful things out of what others had discarded. He attended school in Chatham and Eben and at a young age, Toivo worked in the Rock River Canyons skidding logs with draft horses. He became a successful teamster because he knew and used the Finnish commands that the horses understood. On October 26, 1946, he married Clarita Shamberger and relocated to Muskegon, Michigan for employment. After three years, they returned to the family dairy farm near Chatham. In 1964 they purchased the Chatham Corner Store which they operated until 1977. During that time, Toivo served on the Rock River Board of Education for over twenty years. He was recently honored as the Grand Marshall of the Chatham Homecoming parade. Toivo sponsored and bowled on a bowling team and was well known for his gifted green thumb as a flower gardener. He worked on the farm 365 days a year and at the store 364 days a year, so after selling the store, Toivo and Clarita enjoyed traveling the world, taking cruises to places like Hawaii, the Caribbean, China, and the Mediterranean. Warmer weather called and the Luomas moved as “snowbirds” to Florida, eventually settling in Lake Worth and then in Inverness where they built a beautiful home. In 2013, they returned to Marquette where he became the de facto flower gardener for the apartment complex.

Toivo was preceded in death by his wife of over seventy-one years, Clarita, his parents Solomon and Selma, and his siblings Helen, Carl, Gertrude, Reino, and Helmi. He is survived by his sons - Thomas (Vicki) of Sault Ste. Marie, Michael (Glenda) of Skandia, Mark (Jean) of Munising, and Timothy (Brenda) of Marquette; along with grandchildren - Steve (Stacy), Karolyn, Eric (Alysia), Paul, Natalie (Dave), Andrew (Sarah), Jennifer (Carlos), Kevin (Myranda), Bryan, and Carrie; great grandchildren - Eli, Callie, Mari, Camryn, Maddy, Clark Toivo, Wyatt, Maxim, Kai, Charlie, Cooper, and Finley; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Services will be held at the Bowerman Funeral Home in Munising on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Visiting time with family and friends will take place from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Longtime family friend, Deacon Tom Moseley will lead Toivo’s memorial service at 1:00 p.m. in the funeral home’s chapel. Interment will take place at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Munising.