Obituary for Diana Leigh Tomkinson
Diana Leigh Tomkinson
(October 17, 1959 - February 19, 2020)
With great sadness our family announces that our beloved Diana Leigh Tomkinson, of Weston and Eastham, passed away at home on February 19th surrounded by her family after a hard fought and courageous battle against cancer. She was a devoted daughter, wife and mother to two daughters and grandma to a vivacious 3 year old and a great friend to many.
Diana grew up in Brunswick, Maine with her parents; Shirley and Paul Durgin and 3 siblings; Denise, Debbie and Jim.
Diana and Blake were high-school sweethearts and their marriage was a bond that was the core of our family and represented an example that few will live up to but all strive for. Blake would hitchhike the 2 hours from the University of Maine just to be together until she was able to follow him a year later. Diana became an electrical engineer, first working at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, followed by Raytheon where she met several life long friends. Following the family move to Colorado, she worked at several telecommunications companies, before returning to Massachusetts to focus on life sciences, fulfilling her desire to shift to what had become a family affair since her husband and daughters were all in life sciences as well.
Her love and commitment to her family and work was evident by the fact she was the definition of home; an enjoyable, happy place where you can live, be respected, laugh, learn and be cared for. Though unassuming by nature, voted most shy in high school, her unselfishness and determination provided the foundation and guidance for others to achieve their ambitions while pursuing her aspirations as a software engineer and mother. For Blake, that included working on submarines while pregnant, chasing her 2-year old through the halls of UMass Medical School while he finished his PhD and then supporting him with a move from Massachusetts to Colorado with a 9 and 1 year old. For her eldest daughter, Heather, commuting 2 hours so she could attend a more challenging high school program and then identifying a postgraduate program culminating in a dual Masters degree from the prestigious MIT/Harvard Biomedical Enterprise Program (BEP). For her youngest daughter, Kaleigh, working remotely from home to ease the transition from Colorado to Pennsylvania for her high school years, finding the Tufts Masters in Biomedical Sciences Program, bringing midnight snacks for study support culminating in attending the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, fulfilling her dream to become a doctor.
Diana is survived by her husband, daughters and their partners, David and Ian, granddaughter Adelyn, mother and three siblings. Family and friends are invited to a memorial at the Henry J. Burke & Sons Funeral Home - 56 Washington St, Wellesley Hills, MA 0248, on Saturday, February 29th, 2020 from 2 to 4 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family greatly appreciates your donation to a memorial fund set up to honor Diana by supporting research for the identification and detection of malignancies hidden by fibroids. To donate, please contribute to “The Diana Tomkinson Memorial Fund” at The Cambridge Trust Company or for an online option, there is a connected GoFundMe campaign “Diana Tomkinson Memorial Fund for Fibroid Research” https://tinyurl.com/txhrhf5.
(October 17, 1959 - February 19, 2020)
With great sadness our family announces that our beloved Diana Leigh Tomkinson, of Weston and Eastham, passed away at home on February 19th surrounded by her family after a hard fought and courageous battle against cancer. She was a devoted daughter, wife and mother to two daughters and grandma to a vivacious 3 year old and a great friend to many.
Diana grew up in Brunswick, Maine with her parents; Shirley and Paul Durgin and 3 siblings; Denise, Debbie and Jim.
Diana and Blake were high-school sweethearts and their marriage was a bond that was the core of our family and represented an example that few will live up to but all strive for. Blake would hitchhike the 2 hours from the University of Maine just to be together until she was able to follow him a year later. Diana became an electrical engineer, first working at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, followed by Raytheon where she met several life long friends. Following the family move to Colorado, she worked at several telecommunications companies, before returning to Massachusetts to focus on life sciences, fulfilling her desire to shift to what had become a family affair since her husband and daughters were all in life sciences as well.
Her love and commitment to her family and work was evident by the fact she was the definition of home; an enjoyable, happy place where you can live, be respected, laugh, learn and be cared for. Though unassuming by nature, voted most shy in high school, her unselfishness and determination provided the foundation and guidance for others to achieve their ambitions while pursuing her aspirations as a software engineer and mother. For Blake, that included working on submarines while pregnant, chasing her 2-year old through the halls of UMass Medical School while he finished his PhD and then supporting him with a move from Massachusetts to Colorado with a 9 and 1 year old. For her eldest daughter, Heather, commuting 2 hours so she could attend a more challenging high school program and then identifying a postgraduate program culminating in a dual Masters degree from the prestigious MIT/Harvard Biomedical Enterprise Program (BEP). For her youngest daughter, Kaleigh, working remotely from home to ease the transition from Colorado to Pennsylvania for her high school years, finding the Tufts Masters in Biomedical Sciences Program, bringing midnight snacks for study support culminating in attending the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, fulfilling her dream to become a doctor.
Diana is survived by her husband, daughters and their partners, David and Ian, granddaughter Adelyn, mother and three siblings. Family and friends are invited to a memorial at the Henry J. Burke & Sons Funeral Home - 56 Washington St, Wellesley Hills, MA 0248, on Saturday, February 29th, 2020 from 2 to 4 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family greatly appreciates your donation to a memorial fund set up to honor Diana by supporting research for the identification and detection of malignancies hidden by fibroids. To donate, please contribute to “The Diana Tomkinson Memorial Fund” at The Cambridge Trust Company or for an online option, there is a connected GoFundMe campaign “Diana Tomkinson Memorial Fund for Fibroid Research” https://tinyurl.com/txhrhf5.