Thu Sep 02 2010
by Mike Lesko
Associate Editor
Stow -- Gayle Okonek gets tingles when she thinks about how the U.S. Post Office in Stow will be named after her son, U.S. Marine Cpl. Joseph Tomci.
"We are so happy," she said. "I get choked up at the thought of how awesome it will be to have our post office named after my son. It is such a wonderful honor and tribute."
The news became official when President Obama signed legislation Jan. 29 to posthumously name the Stow Post Office after Mr. Tomci, who was killed Aug. 2, 2006, by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq. Its official name will be the Corporal Joseph A. Tomci Post Office.
A ceremony will take place at a date yet to be determined to recognize Mr. Tomci, a graduate of Stow-Munroe Falls High School.
Philip Okonek, Mr. Tomci's stepfather since he was age 4, said, "We're very pleased. It's a permanent recognition. The fact that it's a permanent honor is really important to us.
"It was a lot of work by Matt Riehl and Congressman LaTourette," he added.
The Okoneks found out that President Obama had signed the bill into law after they received a phone call from Riehl, Stow's Ward 1 Councilman who launched the effort to get the post office named after Mr. Tomci.
"I approached members of the family, and they were very enthusiastic," Riehl said. Riehl, who is campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Bainbridge Township), took the idea to the congressman.
"He was very receptive, and he sponsored it," Riehl said.
It was approved by the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and finally by the president.
"Cpl. Tomci is certainly deserving of this honor," LaTourette said, "and it's a way to permanently remember his sacrifice in his hometown."
Riehl said naming the post office after Mr. Tomci "was the right thing to do."
"It is a perfect tribute to Joe," Riehl said. "It is going to be a reminder of the sacrifice and service that Joe and the other veterans made, and for the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today."
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