Dan Alex
Tolmachoff, 69, of
Glendale, passed away due to cancer on October 25, 2009 with his family by his side. An
Arizona native, Dan was born on May 16, 1940 in
Glendale. Dan was an
Arizona public servant for 45 years, 20 years at the Department of Public Safety, and 25 years at the
Arizona Registrar of Contractors.
He was a member of the Fraternal Order of
Police,
Arizona Highway Patrol Association and the
Brophy College Preparatory Dad’s Club. He was a very caring and considerate man and will be greatly missed by all his family and friends. He is survived by his wife Sharon (nee
Johnson), daughter Heather
Tolmachoff and son Gregory
Tolmachoff.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 8pm on Thursday, October 29th at
Menke Funeral Home, 12420 N. 103rd
Ave., Sun City,
Arizona. Graveside service will be held 11 am on Friday, October 30th at Resthaven
Park Cemetery, 6290 W. Northern
Ave., Glendale,
Arizona.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, AZ 85014 or the
Arizona Kidney Foundation, 4203 E. Indian School Rd, Ste #140,
Phoenix, AZ 85018.
Though he married out and was shunned by many of his S&L-user relatives, Dan requested a "Russian funeral with shovels", which was arranged and performed by relatives and members of the Shubin-Podval-605-Clark
Ave congregation, City of Industry, CA with the
Arizona congregation.
About 30 S&L-users performed the rites documented by Dan's great-grandfather Sergei which resulted in the Book of the Sun: Spirit and Life. He was buried in one of more than a dozen plots reserved for his relatives who would not be accepted in the Russian cemetery.
About 250 people attended. At least a dozen were in police uniform. About 30 wore Russian clothes. Another 20 of Russian descent attended in plain clothes.
Most of the shoveling was done by
Tolmachoff relatives. Only 3 of the "Cowboys" who claim ownership of the assembly hall attended, but did not participate in any part of the service, except
Pete (Zeke)
Popoff who grabbed a shovel.
