Obituaries

Therese ‘Terry’ Pounds (Joiner): 1927-2024

Therese “Terry” Pounds (Joiner), 97, of Montclair, NJ died peacefully surrounded by family at Mountainside Hospital on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. Beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, cousin and friend, Terry was born a ‘survivor,’ having lost her mother who died soon after her birth in 1927 in New York City. She subsequently lived all over the world as a self-described “army brat” after her father, Colonel Talley Dosier Joiner, remarried and reclaimed “his little Therese” from her aunts who raised her until she was six. After graduating from Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ, Terry briefly attended college at Trinity, DC, then decided to go to Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School in NJ. The skills she learned there served her well at her first secretarial jobs in Manhattan, then later at Montclair Kimberly Academy in Montclair where she worked for almost twenty years in the Office of External Affairs. She was proud of her mastery of the rules of English grammar, and many relied on her to proofread their letters. After the death of her husband in 1978, Terry set up a Montclair chapter of THEOS, a nationwide non-denominational support group for widowed men and women. She ran the group for approximately ten years and created friendships from that work that lasted until her death. She was also involved with the Friends of Barnet and the Montclair Fine Arts Festival.

Terry was predeceased in death by her husband, Donald Pounds, her son Richard, her beloved companions, Arthur Jones and Fred Berinato, and her sisters Lucy and Claire. She is survived by her son Donald Pounds and his companion Patrice Holtzer, daughter Mary Pounds Sisler, daughter-in-law Bette Pounds, sons James Pounds (Bethany) and Thomas Pounds (Liljana), daughter Virginia Pounds, sons Michael Pounds (Catherine) and John Pounds. She was the proud grandmother of sixteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren: Katy, Austin, Colleen, Connor, Jordan, Jason, Jeremy, Natalie, Anika, Evan, Noah, Ben, Eli, Max, Harper and Nolan; Scarlett, Emma, Carson, Peyton and Wesley. She is also survived by a large extended family and countless friends.

Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, November 9 at 10 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 30 N. Fullerton Ave., Montclair, NJ 07042, followed by interment of ashes at Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Upper Montclair.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Terry’s name to The Release Recovery Foundation at: https://donate.hakuapp.com/donations/new?fundraising_effort=in-loving-memory-of-therese-terry-pounds.

Tomeka Megali Shum

01/07/1976 - 10/02/2024

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Obituary For Tomeka Megali Shum

Tomeka Megali (Singleton) Shum, age 48, passed away Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Toledo whilst battling pancreatic cancer. She was known to her family, friends and community as “Mimi” and Mrs. Shum. She was loved by all she encountered and was filled with joy that radiated from her entire being. Born in Nuremberg, Germany on January 7, 1976, to Ernesta (Robinson) and Gerald Singleton, Jr. who both preceded her in death.

She received a diploma from Rutherford B Hayes High School and went on to pursue and receive a Bachelor of Arts in English from The Ohio State University. While attending OSU, she, with the help of AOL Online, met the love of her life, George, whom she married and moved to San Francisco, California. While there she received her Master of Education with a concentration in Mathematics where she for several years worked as a math teacher, blessing and touching the lives of all those who crossed her path.

In 2005 Tomeka and George, moved by faith in God, moved to Toledo, Ohio. Though they initially encountered many challenges, God continually blessed the Happy Couple with new friends, church, neighbors and community. Tomeka worked at different schools in the Toledo community, but eventually found her calling at Toledo Christian Schools where she had always wanted to teach. During her time in Toledo, she accomplished many things and blessed many lives, but her greatest achievement was being the mother of two beautiful children.

Tomeka was a woman of many talents ranging from teaching students to counseling friends and strangers alike. She continued to deepen her faith and sharpen her skills by taking biblical counseling courses at the Biblical Counseling Coalition. But her most recognized talent like her mother before her was singing, which she did as a praise and worship leader at Concordia Lutheran Church. Tomeka used her gifts and hobbies such as photography, baking, cooking and writing as tools to witness to others about the goodness of her Savior, Jesus Christ. Her kind words of advice and wisdom as well as her radiant smile and loving personality have profoundly impacted everyone around her.

She is survived by her loving and devoted husband, George Shum; children, Jacquilyn and Eliyahkam; adopted daughters, Frances Harris of Sarasota, FL, Mickaylla McNeal and Gabrielle McNeal of Toledo, OH; siblings Ibana Y.A. Singleton and Gerald D. Singleton, IV of Morehead, KY, and Jirayna M.A. Singleton of Dublin, OH; aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins and numerous close friends. Though her time with us was brief, all who have the privilege to meet her have been truly blessed by God. She would not want us to mourn but rather give thanks to God for all the good He has done.

Visitation for Tomeka will be Friday, October 11, 2024 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Walker Funeral Home, 5155 W Sylvania Ave, Toledo, Ohio. The funeral will be held on Saturday, October 12, 2024 at 9 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 4560 Glendale Ave, Toledo, Ohio, with Pastor Ryan Kleimola officiating and Pastor Michael Mapus of Concordia Lutheran Church preaching. The committal will be held privately at Ottawa Hills Memorial Park. A reception will be held following the service at Toledo Christian School in the White Center, 2303 Brookford Dr, Toledo, from noon to 2 p.m. The doors will open at 11 a.m.

The family ask that all who attend the viewing and funeral services wear vibrant colors to reflect Tomeka’s personality and impact she has had on the lives of those around her. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can made to Tomeka’s GoFundMe at https://gofund.me/ed2367fb.

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