John D. Tomasek, 72, of Grinnell, died on Monday, August 12, 2013, at his home. A funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, August 21, 2013, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with Rev. Orlan Mitchell officiating. Interment will be at Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell. Friends may call at the Smith Funeral Home beginning 12 noon on Tuesday and the family will be present at the funeral home from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Memorials may be directed to Grinnell Regional Medical Center. John was born on February 18, 1941, in Grinnell, Iowa to F.W. "Tommy" and Ethel Evans Tomasek. He was raised in Grinnell and graduated from Grinnell High School with the Class of 1959. He also graduated from Grinnell College with a degree in economics in 1963, and did graduate work in economics at the University of Iowa. John worked for many years in building demolition and salvage, first for the D.H. Griffin Company in Saltville, Virginia and later for the Ehinger Construction Company in Kansas City, Missouri. Following the death of his father in 1984, he returned to Grinnell and was involved in farm management. He was an enthusiastic member of the Kiwanis Club of Grinnell and a fan of the Ohio State Buckeye football team. Other interests included sprint car racing, the stock market and farming. A friend said of him "I admire what John had accomplished as a farm dealer/operator. He had reinvented himself as a knowledgeable authority on Iowa agriculture." He traveled widely around the United States on work projects and attending football games and car races. Survivors include his sister, Miriam (Ed) Freiter of Kingwood, Texas; one nephew, Erik Freiter of Houston, Texas; one niece, Christine Butterfield of Austin, Texas; and one grandniece, Dylan Grace Butterfield, also of Austin. He was preceded in death by his father in 1984 and his mother in 1986.