Thomas Peter Zlomek

Thomas “Peter” Zlomek passed away on November 2, 2025. He was sixty-six years old. Peter was a well regarded speed skater who, as all speed skaters do, took more than a few spills. Unfortunately some of those spills were hard enough to crack his helmet, contributing to early on-set dementia. When it was no longer possible to care for Peter at home, he resided at Bridgewater Nursing Home in Binghamton.

His family will miss him very much. He was a wonderful husband of 36 years to Katie Zlomek, a great dad to his son Peter and a loving grandfather to Pete's daughters Ellie (10) and Lila (5). As older adults, Peter and Katie first became foster parents providing a home and generous doses of love to a variety of children in need. One child captured their hearts on the day he was born, and they later adopted Philip. Peter was also a loving and caring son to his parents and in-laws, great friend to his siblings, fun-loving Uncle Peter to multiple nieces and nephews, "greats" of each.

Peter was one of seven children of the late Frederick and Muriel Zlomek of New Bern, NC. He leaves behind siblings Joseph and wife Debra, Mathew and wife Nancy, Elizabeth and partner Joe Harrington, Mary and husband Chuck Guditis, Cathy, and Marc A. and wife Stephanie. His nieces and nephews include: Erin Johnson (husband Andrew and children Nyla and Colin), Jake Zlomek, Ryan Zlomek, Christopher Zlomek, Andrew Guditis (wife Tonya and son Simon), Abigail Marbaker (husband Zachary), and Nicholas Guditis.

As a kid, Peter loved to be in the kitchen and cook with his mother. Although he was the only sibling to merit a Regents Scholarship, he chose to work at a local restaurant after graduating high school. When he was ready to resume schooling, he studied culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America. He moved to South Carolina to teach culinary arts at Johnson and Wales College in Charleston, SC. There, he met his future wife Katie who was also an instructor. They married and were blessed to have their son Peter six years later. They moved to New York and bought their first home in Binghamton, where we watched their older son Pete grow up.

Peter felt called into ministry and obtained a Certificate of License from Mt Olivet Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC (1991). The passage of time saw his family go through many transitional and emotional upheavals. These experiences led Peter to begin praying three times a day, seeking God's face and appreciating how dependent he was upon Him and Him alone. This fueled his quest to better know the Word of God creating a lifelong yearning to read and understand the Bible. He received an Associate of Divinity Degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (1992), a BA in Religion and Philosophy from Shaw University (1994) and a Certificate of Ordination from Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle (1997). He was also a proud member of the Navy Junior ROTC in his high school years.

Peter exercised his gift of evangelism and spread the Gospel everywhere he went. At different times, he participated in mission trips to Haiti and China. If he saw someone that looked hurting or down, he always asked if he could pray with and for them. The Christian call to nurse the sick was not lost on Peter. While receiving nursing home care himself, he was always helping others; pushing another resident's wheelchair so they could have a change of scenery, holding the hand of someone missing family, and in general, lending assistance wherever he saw a need.

Peter's love for Jesus Christ was deep and steadfast. He was also very devoted to family. Ireland felt like home to Peter and he visited there several times with his young family to see the country and to meet generational family. After significant research on the process, he obtained his Irish citizenship. For a time, Peter and his family lived in NC. When Katie's aging parents required full time care giving, they sold their home and moved to NY to take on that role.

Being an entrepreneur was in Peter's DNA. He used these innate abilities to further evangelize. Peter and Katie developed a product called Torah Tunes and Kefa Kemolz Productions to create and distribute calendars and other accessories to promote the Word of God to both Jew and Gentile alike.

Peter will be most remembered for his strong faith in Jesus and for his love of family. We will miss him until we join him one day in Glory.

The family will receive friends at the Wm. R. Chase & Son Funeral Home, 737 Chenango Street, Port Dickinson, NY on Friday, November 7, 2025 from 10-11am with a Funeral Service at 11am. The burial will follow in the Chenango Valley Cemetery.

To Honor Peter’s memory, please consider making a donation to Catherine’s Cupboard, 1031 Chenango Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, an amazing ministry to the needy in the Binghamton area.