Thomas W. Peashka

Thomas was born Feb. 23, 1950, in Richland, to Adolph "Tommy" Peashka and Phyllis Cary Peashka. He had two older half-sisters, Barbara and Cheryl, and later another sister, Joni, joined the family. Thomas was a small, shy boy. But he loved growing up in Richland and spent many happy hours on the banks of the Yakima River with friends, reading in the public library, listening to music and just enjoying being a kid in small-town America. He attended kindergarten through 12th grade in the Richland School District, graduating in 1968 from Richland (Columbia) High School.

Music was in Thomas' heart and soul from infancy. He was gifted with an exquisitely pure tenor voice and began singing in school productions in junior high. By senior high, he (as the bass player and vocalist) and four friends formed a band, and they continued to play gigs throughout the Northwest beyond high school graduation. He went on to be a member of other Pacific Northwest rock bands until he was in his mid-20s. He earned a degree in performance arts (music) from the University of Washington in 1974, and trained to sing opera. He sang in large church choirs such as St. James Cathedral in Seattle, and also was a cantor for several synagogues and Catholic churches through the years.

His beloved daughter and son, Erin and Nikolai, came from his first marriage, which ended in divorce in 1995. On St. Patrick's Day 2004, he and classmate Lynn-Marie M. Hatcher were married. They had known one another through school since she was 11 and he was 12. In high school, he was too shy to ask her out, and she wasn't allowed to ask boys on dates. So even though each of them wanted to "go out" with the other, it never happened then. But 33 years after graduation, on May 7, 2001, a series of Internet events that began in 1999 culminated in Thomas reaching out to Lynn-Marie through email. The story of them being brought together and of their growing love was almost like a fairy tale. They called it "a God-thing."

One thing Thomas and Lynn-Marie each wanted for years before coming together was to have a small, self-sustaining farm. On July 21, 2005, they moved from Spokane to establish "Haven Farm" east of Lewiston. Together they worked hard at learning, hands-on, how to develop a farm. She also worked to bring in the money, and he worked doing most of the actual farm labor. In the beginning, it was 8 acres of mostly poison hemlock, and everything they knew about farming they learned from books or the Internet. By the time of his death, Thomas had fenced the entire property by hand, built up a producing orchard of more than 70 trees, raised goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs, and accomplished innumerable other feats as a true farmer. Next to God and his wife, he said his truest love and deepest gratitude was for Haven Farm. He had worked for more than three decades as a senior software engineer before becoming a full-time farmer in 2007.

Thomas was preceded in death by his son, Nikolai; and father Adolph.

Remaining to love and cherish him in this world are his wife, Lynn-Marie at Haven Farm; mother Phyllis Peashka of Sequim, Wash.; daughter Erin Baker (Dave) of Seattle, and grandson Jameson; stepson Seth Peterson (Sarah) of Richland, and grandsons Asher and Noah; stepson Canaan Peterson (Leslie Ann) of Richland, and grandson Gideon; sister Barbara Stratton (Trevor) of Gooding, Idaho; sister Cheryl Fertig (Marlin) of Sequim; sister Joni Talmage (Jay) of Redmond, Wash.; special niece Brandy Senecal of Kirkland, Wash.; "adopted nephew/son" Dylan Thompson at Haven Farm; sister-in-law Sally Biggerstaff (Dick) of Goldendale, Wash.; several other extended family members; and many friends, a great number of whom supported him and his family during his final life journey online via CaringBridge.org.

Thomas had a profound spiritual experience in 1991, while visiting the Vatican. After that he was baptized and confirmed Catholic. He had since turned away from God, especially after the sudden death of his son in 2011. However, he died in a state of peace, harmony, love and forgiveness, having heard and responded again to the call of the Holy Spirit in his last year of his life on Earth. For this we are eternally thankful.

Cremains will be buried at Haven Farm at a later date during a private family gathering, per his wishes. Thomas requested that memorial contributions be directed to a local pregnancy resource center, prolifeacrossamerica.org or CaringBridge.org.

Thomas wanted to especially thank everyone who has been a support to Lynn-Marie during his journey home, and who will support her in the months ahead as she takes over the operation of Haven Farm.