| January 27 -- San Luis Obispo
Tribune, Pasadena Star-News
Andrew William Tolmachoff, 80, passed away on January 23, 2004 in San Luis Obispo, CA. Andrew was the loving husband of Ruth Ednoff Tolmachoff of San Luis Obispo and the father of Michael & Jan Tolmachoff of Eaton, CO; Wayne & Diana Tolmachoff of Bakersfield, CA; and David & Dru Lynch of San Luis Obispo. He leaves behind eight grandchildren. Andrew was born on December 10, 1922 in Glendale, AZ, the eleventh and youngest child of Vasili Sergevich Tolmachoff and Esverya Semyonovna Zadorkin. After graduating from Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles, he enlisted in the Army Air Corp and served honorably with the 306th Bombardment Group, being decorated with both the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. After the war, he had ambitions to play professional baseball, but this endeavor was limited by his war injuries. Instead, he was employed by Louisiana Louvres, Inc. of South Pasadena as a shutter installer and later became owner / president of the company. A memorial service will be held at the New Molokan Cemetery, 7201 Slauson Ave., Commerce, CA on Wednesday, January 28 at 9am with burial at 11am. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to the Alzheimer's Association. The family also thanks Cabrillo Care Center for their fine care of Andy. |
| NOTE
TO READERS: Occasionally I get critical comments. This one objects to
the facts in the above obituary because they are "offensive to our
community".
Feb 6, 2004 Andy: I am disappointed with you again for publishing as part of the funeral of Andy Tolmachoff his military service. With conscientious objection to military service a primary tenet of our spiritual Molokan community, I find this inclusion on your web page offensive to our community as a whole. Its inclusion gives people the impression that military service is acceptable. Daniel H. Shubin < danhshubin@jps.net > Shubins's first objection (2 years ago) was that I posted links to his websites, to which I reminded him that our ancestors came here for such freedoms. In this case I don't understand how Shubin believes he is protecting "our community" by protesting the truth unless he wants to rewrite history "his" way. Such rewriting of history and hiding the truth was extensively done by Communists. When I began to study of Molokan history in the 1970s, a professor gave me this advice about how to think. There is history (A) the way it actually happened, and (B) history the way some may have wished it had happened. He emphasized that you must also analyze the difference between (A) and (B) -- how some want to change the facts. This reveals who they really are, and tells another story. It is a fact that more Molokan men served in WWII than went to CO camps. It is a fact that many more Molokans had to serve in the military in Russia because there was no alternative service for sectarians in Russia. The Germans in Russia invented the CO camps and imported the idea to the US to the benefit of American-Molokans. It is a fact that many Molokans elders in our "front rows" (prestoly) -- in America and the Former Soviet Union -- served in the military. What is much more disturbing to me historically is that those Molokan - Jumpers who attended the CO camps in America did not pay their debt: "a balance of $17,023.56 of unmet responsibility"! Berokoff, page 132 What offends me more than this Molokan man choosing to serve in the military, is that so many Molokan COs cheated the other religions who came to help us. The real facts "gives people the impression" that cheating and theft is acceptable. |