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REPUBLIC -- Eileen Mae Tuomi, 96, of Republic, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, at The Cottages in Marinette, Wis.
Eileen was born in Marquette on Aug. 1, 1930, to the late Raymond and Alma (Kangas) Just. She spent most of her childhood in the Witch Lake area and had many good memories with her family and special friends, Donna (Wixtrom) Erickson and Virginia (Wixtrom) Wuokko. We heard especially of the horseback riding with Donna and the fishing with her brother, Carl. She also had hard times as they had to help their father cut wood during the Depression to get money for food and necessities. But the hardest thing she faced was losing her mother in her teens. Her mother was sick for quite awhile before she died, and she and her sister, Evelyn, would take care of her.
She later moved to Marquette and worked various jobs until she met William Bussiere, whom she married in 1949 and had her three children, Daniel, Paul and David Bussiere. She remained a homemaker, and we remember Christmases and birthdays were always special.
In 1963 she divorced our dad, and we moved to the Republic area. In 1964 she married Clifford LaParche and they lived happily until he died unexpectedly in 1970.
In 1974 she married Theodore "Bud" Tuomi. They moved to our grandfather's house, which was the old homestead of his father, and were happy there until Bud also died unexpectedly in 2009. This was her happy place, and she even wanted to stay there after Buddy died.
Eileen loved her family, her flowers, decorations, taking care of the house, puttering, taking pictures, touring the U.P. with Buddy and eating out.
One of the happiest times for her and the grandkids was when Paul lived nearby, and the grandkids remember always going to Gramma and Buddy's to help them with chores, sleep-overs, stories of her childhood and pancakes for breakfast. They also enjoyed shopping at Kmart and ShopKo, where they might get a new toy.
A lifelong dream of going to Washington D.C. to see the White House, capitol and all the monuments was finally accomplished in 1985.
There were many happy memories until October 2021, when she got COVID and ended up in the hospital. She then had to have 24-hour care and was never quite the same.
Eileen leaves two children, Daniel (CeCelia) Bussiere and Paul (Kyong) Bussiere; six grandchildren, Janet Bussiere, Mary (Bussiere) Hayden, Peter Bussiere, Andrea (Bussiere) McGuire, Joyce Bussiere and Luke (Emily) Bussiere; six great-grandchildren, Jackson Hayden, Ben Hayden, Brielle McGuire, Declan McGuire, Isabelle Bussiere and Amelia Bussiere; and several nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Raymond and Alma Just; her brothers, Carl (Nancy) Just, Clarence (Barbara) Just and Clifford Just; her sisters, Evelyn (Dionne) Gustafson and Rhea (Just) Price; her son, David Bussiere; and three nephews and one niece.
Her nephew, John Roberts, and his wife, Ann, were very special to her and always remembered holidays and birthdays. She was the last of her family and uncles and aunts.
A graveside service will be held by the family at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 15, at the Republic Cemetery.
We would like to thank the staff of The Cottages in Marinette for their wonderful care and the release of stress for us in knowing that they could handle just about anything for the last two and a half years.
We thank the workers at Compassus for their diligent hospice care, which handled all emergencies and daily care. They also allowed our mother to stay at The Cottages until she died, which was a huge blessing for us.
We would like to thank Chaplin Matt for his many visits and talks with our mother, which were very helpful to her, and she was very thankful for, as were we since she seemed to open up more to him than to us about her relationship to God and Jesus.
We wish to also thank Evergreen Assisted Living in Kingsford for caring for our mother for the first 2½ years after being released from the hospital. There were many special people we got to know and thank, but a special thanks to Ashley, the nurse at the time, for taking a chance to care for our mother when we didn't know where else to turn. It was a real answer to prayer.
Condolences may be expressed to the family of Eileen Mae Tuomi online at www.ernashfuneralhomes.com.
The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with the arrangements.