Mary Jane Tolmasoff

Loving wife, mother, grandmother, and counselor to those who needed her most, Mary Jane (Wavra) Tolmasoff lived a full life despite her physical challenges. She passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, March 23rd after recently celebrating her 74th birthday and her granddaughter's wedding.

Mary Jane was born in Chicago to Frank Wavra and Jane Roland (Ingraffia) who immigrated to the U.S. from Sicily, Italy in 1923. She had two brothers, Frank Jr. (Janet) and Victor, who both preceded her in death. She was an aunt to Kimberly Bingham and Donna Hahn.

After falling on the playground as a child, Mary Jane was paralyzed from the waist down. She spent three years in a Chicago hospital in a rehabilitation living facility.

After graduating from Forest View High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, she Keith L. Tolmasoff. Mary Jane and Keith were married June 22, 1969 in Des Plaines, Illinois. In August of 1986, Mary Jane and Keith moved to Florida.

Mary Jane and Keith had two children: Nicole (Richard) and Sean (Natalie) and were blessed with eight grandchildren: Emily, Sarah, Matthew, Ava, Audrey, Amanda, Alyssa, and Allie.

Mary Jane earned her bachelor's degree from Barry University and her master's from Troy University and became a licensed mental health counselor. Mary Jane had been a counselor for 42 years until her death. As licensed mental health counselor, she helped struggling high school students through her work with the Center for Drug-Free Living (acquired by Aspire Health Partners) in their New Horizons program. Most of that time, she was assigned to Oak Ridge High School in Orlando where she met and helped hundreds of students over the years. During a few of her 10 years in private practice, her daughter worked alongside her as a mental health counselor. In recent years, she continued her work virtually at Hispanic Family Counseling by supervising counselor interns working on earning their Florida state license to practice.

Mary Jane loved spending time with her family and going to Walt Disney World many times a year with her grandchildren. Despite the challenges that Mary Jane faced with her paralysis, she raised two children, earned an advanced degree and will be remembered as someone who always put others needs before her own and never let her physical limitations get in the way of enjoying her life.

She will be missed by all who knew her, were helped by her, and especially those who loved her and were loved by her.

Because of her dedication to helping children and the paralyzing injury she suffered as a child, in lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Mary Jane's name to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital at www.stjude.org/donate.
Donation notifications may be mailed to:
Newcomer
attn: Family of Mary Jane Tolmasoff
3806 Howell Branch Road
Winter Park, FL 32792

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