John Wright Tolle

John Tolle, of Downey, passed away from Parkinson’s and old age on Nov. 9. Having grown up in Abingdon, Illinois, working many different jobs from an early age, he moved to California in 1945 after meeting the love of his life, Helen Tolle, to operate Tolle Food Service located in the Alcoa Aluminum Plant in Vernon. He ran TFS with Helen until his retirement at the age of 69.

John was a longtime member of the Downey community, delivering meals for the Meals on Wheels service for 20+ years. He was a charming storyteller, a traveled fisherman, a hard worker, and a definite enjoyer of a well-done meal had with friends and family. In 2010 he was faced with the unfortunate reality of going on without Helen when she passed away Apr. 10 of that year. They had been married for 65 years. Her loss was devastating for him, but he continued to face life and Parkinson’s Disease with an inexorable positivity that everyone who knew him appreciated immensely. After three years without Helen, he grew tired and no doubt went off to meet with her again, where we the surviving family wish them happiness and lives well-lived.