Erika Tomczak, née Janssen, a resident of Eureka, Calif., since 2002, passed away on June 7, 2025, at the age of 83 years.
She was an unselfish, kind, brave, and sharing person, born in Bremen, Germany, on May 12, 1942. Her early childhood years were not easy, as they occurred during World War II. The Allies — England and the United States — were bombing her port city on the Weser River in northern Germany until late 1945.
Her parents were Herbert and Magdelena Janssen. After fathering Renate, Hildegard, Erika, and Marianne, Herbert was drafted into the German Army and shot down in a passenger/transport plane over Greece in 1943. Erika’s mother, Magdelena, remarried and had three more children: Heike, Elie, and Ilse, who still live in Bremen. Erika helped care for her younger sisters during those difficult times after World War II. The children collected metals and intact artifacts in the destroyed parts of their city, redeeming them for a few coins to help pay for precious food supplies.
Schools reopened after the war, and by the time Erika was 16, she was working as a caregiver for the children of German playwright Bertolt Brecht. She later became the head cook at a government-sponsored health recovery resort for sickly, malnourished, and health-challenged German children in Berchtesgaden, in the German Alps. Erika eventually returned to her native city of Bremen, found work, and began building a career as an office worker with a German defense contractor.
In the summer of 1965, the lives of Erika Janssen and Cpt. Gerry Tomczak, a U.S. Army officer stationed in Bremerhaven, Germany, changed forever when they met on a beach called Duhnen on the North Sea. That Gerry could speak German (learned courtesy of the U.S. Army) made a difference in their relationship, as Erika could not speak English. They spent many weekends together doing all the things that cost little — long nature walks, visiting small towns, historical sites, zoos, listening to music, and simply enjoying each other’s company.
In August 1966, Gerry received orders sending him to Vietnam. Nothing was settled between them except a promise to correspond. Gerry arrived in Vietnam in October 1966. In May 1967, Erika received a letter from Gerry telling her he was leaving the active Army in September 1967 and proposing marriage. Erika answered with one word: Ja.
Erika left her family and a potentially lucrative job in Bremen, Germany, and bravely came to Chicago knowing only Gerry. They were married in church on October 14, 1967, welcomed and celebrated by Gerry’s family.
After the wedding, Erika and Gerry traveled to Santa Barbara, where Gerry entered the Brooks Institute of Photography for training as a professional photographer. It was a hard, lonely time for Erika, with no nearby friends or family. Gerry worked long hours taking pictures, developing film, and printing photographs. The only bright spot was Erika watching lots of TV and rapidly learning English.
In the fall of 1968, Erika and Gerry returned to Chicago after their lease expired. In the interim, they traveled to Las Vegas, Death Valley, and San Francisco.
Erika thrived in Chicago. She grew close to Gerry’s family and became friends with a married woman from Germany who lived in the same high-rise apartment building. Gerry began a commercial photography business. Erika got a job as a filing clerk and part-time switchboard operator for Esquire Magazine; her English had become that good.
What bothered both Erika and Gerry was that, except when northerly winds blew off Lake Michigan, the city air was hard to breathe — gray and dirty. Even 50 miles away, you could see the gray dome hanging over the city.
They decided to buy a small photography studio in Cadillac, Michigan, a northern lower Michigan town of 11,000, and moved there in 1971. Erika and Gerry enjoyed success in their business of portraits, wedding pictures, and especially commercial/industrial photography for manufacturers in northern Michigan. Erika helped manage the studio and took several community college courses, particularly in accounting and marketing.
Around 1976, a general decline began in the manufacturing sector due to increased oil costs, which severely affected the Rust Belt states of the Midwest, especially Michigan. In December 1981, Wexford County, where Cadillac was located, had a 23.2% unemployment rate. Erika applied for a job at a local motel, resort, and golf course as a “night motel clerk with light bookkeeping duties.” Unsuccessful, Erika discovered that even CPAs had applied for the position.
In early 1982, Erika told Gerry to pack up and drive to California to sleep on the couch of a friend who had already moved there, until he found a job. California was booming due to the military defense buildup under President Ronald Reagan.
They closed the studio, and Gerry drove to California. He found a job running a store selling software for the popular new Apple II computer in Costa Mesa, Calif. Erika painted and prepared their house for sale. She contacted a broker and increased the commission to expedite the home sale in a slow market and cover the remaining mortgage. She sold as many possessions as possible, including their second car, to raise enough money to rent a U-Haul truck and make the move.
Neighbors helped load a large U-Haul with their remaining possessions. This included two small dogs, dearly loved by Erika — a medium poodle and a cockapoo — tranquilized and riding in the cab with Gerry’s mother, who had come to live with them. Erika drove 2,245.5 miles from Cadillac, MI to Costa Mesa, Calif.
The Tomczaks discovered a bright new world full of excitement, business activity, and construction when they arrived in California in the spring of 1982. Because Erika had mastered balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and payroll, she easily found a job as a full-charge bookkeeper with MBH Electronics, a small, busy PC board manufacturer. Gerry continued working in PC software sales until he started a job selling newspaper advertising for the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Unfortunately, by 1998, PC board manufacturing was being done much more cheaply in Asia than in the U.S. This put Erika’s well-paid job increasingly at risk. At the same time, newspaper readership and advertising began declining due to the internet and television, causing concern for Gerry. Erika endured a grueling commute between Corona in Riverside County and Santa Ana (where most jobs were). She faced a 2½-hour commute each morning and evening, and up to three hours on Friday evenings. Erika couldn’t find a comparable job closer to Corona.
In 2000, Gerry took Erika to visit a high school friend living in Eureka, hoping to relieve her commuting stress by relocating. Erika particularly appreciated the area and its proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Gerry suggested moving there, but Erika insisted she didn’t want to live in the woods. They agreed to find a place in town. Gerry found a suitable home, and they moved to Eureka to be semi-retired in the summer of 2002.
Erika volunteered with the Timber Heritage Association and worked as an in-home caregiver until slowing down due to surgery and later knee damage from a fall. Erika and Gerry enjoyed visiting the local Pacific Ocean beaches, often letting their dogs run. In 2013, Erika traveled to Germany to visit family, and in 2018, two of her sisters visited the Tomczaks.
By early 2018, Erika showed signs of dementia and could no longer manage financial tasks accurately. Gerry underwent surgery in August 2019 and recovered well. Despite health challenges, they continued visiting the ocean regularly.
On January 31, 2025, Erika became seriously ill and was admitted to the Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center on February 5, 2025. Gerry visited her almost daily for the next four months. When Erika’s health seriously declined, her treatment transitioned to comfort care on June 6. Erika passed away on the afternoon of Saturday, June 7, 2025, with Gerry at her bedside.
Erika is survived by her loving husband, Gerry Tomczak, and three sisters: Ilse Bossing, Elle Schulze, and Heike Schnelle. Friends are welcome to attend the scattering of her ashes from the Madaket on July 14, 2025. Meet at 1 C Street, Eureka, at 11 a.m. Flowers are optional. Following the send-off, all are welcome to enjoy food at Jack’s Seafood.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Erika Tomczak’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Bill Williams passed away peacefully on June 10, 2025, leaving a legacy of love for his family, friends, and community.
He was born on October 3, 1935, in Eureka, California, to William Williams (originally Hulskath), an immigrant from Switzerland, and Amalia “Mollie” Williams (née Scheisser), also of Swiss ancestry. Bill was raised in a modest house on F Street near Henderson Center. He spent the final year of his life in the same house, living with family members and enjoying daily visits from friends.
He attended Nazareth Convent School (now St. Bernard’s), Eureka High School, and Humboldt State College, where he played on the collegiate tennis team. Living nearly his entire life in Eureka, he had many lifelong friends, too numerous to name them all, but they start with his childhood friends John Marcuz, Mike Fielding, Jim Callison, and Bill Johnston. These friendships continued through adulthood and included their families. Annual summer trips were taken to Briceland at the Marcuz ranch and houseboating on Trinity Lake. Bill also had special bond with Phil Dwight, who he first met in first grade at the Nazareth Convent School.
Following college, he served his country in the Army, then returned home to start a career at his family’s business, Ten Window Williams. His father opened the store in 1927 as a journeyman watchmaker and with Bill’s help, they built it into a Humboldt institution until its closing in 2019 after 92 years. Bill learned from his parents to treat employees as family, resulting in many employees working at the jewelry store for more than 30 years.
Bill shared three children — Jennifer, Jeff, and Evan — with his first wife, Nancy Buckley. He was introduced to Nancy by his neighborhood friend, Jere O’Neil, who was Nancy’s cousin. He later married Gale Paradise, staying married for many years followed by a long, loving relationship with Linda Osborne and her two children, Eric and Ali.
Bill witnessed Humboldt County thrive during its peak, when the lumber and fishing industries flourished, the population was growing, and Eureka served as the region’s vibrant center. He enjoyed all aspects of living on the beautiful and rugged North Coast but especially enjoyed duck hunting and fishing for salmon and steelhead.
He felt privileged to belong to the Centerville Duck Club for many years, and enjoyed annual hunts in Tulelake, Alturas and the Sacramento Valley. Bill told stories of the past where catching 30-pound king salmon right in the bay was common. Hugo Papstein taught Bill to fly fish for steelhead on the Trinity River gorge between Hoopa and Weitchpec. Later, he was introduced to fishing the Klamath River by Larry and Helen Marshall, in particular the Mettah riffle, located just upstream from Pecwan.
Bill would continue to fly fish on Mettah for the next 40-plus years. Whether on the ocean or a river, or smoking a cigar by the fire, Bill enjoyed the company and camaraderie of his closest friends and fishing companions, of which there are many, but most notably Steve Dolfini, Laurie Lazio, Si Wrigley, Glen Wood, Mark Moore, Tony Karlich, Alan Marsh, Lynn Hemas, Davey O’Brien, Rich Ames and Ron Coleman.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his aunt Eva Marte (Hulskath); his uncle Hans Marte; and his first cousin Helen St. Louis. He is survived by his three children: Jennifer Williams, Jeff (Mavis) Williams, and Evan (Holly) Williams, along with seven grandchildren: Yazan, Jordan, Paige, Emma, Cameron, Devon, and Laurel; and last but not least his cousin Judy Powers (St. Louis).
The family would like to extend special thanks to Bill’s daughter, Jennifer, whose daily care enabled a comfortable and joyful final year, and to close family friend Wallie Fitzpatrick for his friendship and never-ending support.
A celebration of life will be held in Bill’s honor at future date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of Humboldt in his memory.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Bill Williams’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Lars David Burnside Sr. passed away on June 18, 2025, surrounded by family in Fortuna.
Lars was born in Fortuna to Walter David Burnside and Elsa Johanna Larson on March 9, 1938. His father Walter was well known in Fortuna, owning the gas station on the corner of Main Street and 14th Street. Lars was their only child. He attended school in Fortuna, where he met his future wife, Barbara Anne Freeman, in the 8th grade.
On June 21, 1955 Lars married Barbara in Stevenson, Washington. They always made Fortuna their home, celebrating their 68th Anniversary together in 2023, before Barbara’s death on March 4, 2024. On August 9, 1955 they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Trudi Anne Burnside. Then on June 15, 1961 they welcomed their second child, a son named Lars David Burnside Jr.
Lars will be fondly remembered for his infectious chuckle and generous spirit, always quick to help others. Whether it was offering a hand or lending his skills to fix or repair something for a friend, he gave of himself without hesitation. His warmth and kindness touched many lives and will not be forgotten.
After graduating from Fortuna Union High School in 1957, Lars began his career at Pacific Lumber Company in the Machinist Apprenticeship Program. He went on to become a skilled machinist, and after receiving additional training, he became an accomplished railroad locomotive mechanic. He took great pride in his work and was entrusted with overseeing the roundhouse at Scotia — an important role he fulfilled with dedication and expertise.
Lars had a passion for restoring classic cars, especially his beloved 1931 Ford Model A. He was an active member of the Eel River Model A Club, where he once served as club president. He and Barbara shared many adventures with fellow members, going on countless road trips and enjoying the camaraderie of the classic car community. Each year, Lars proudly drove his Model A in the Rodeo parade, often with his grandchildren riding along. He also served as a judge for the Model A division during the parade, a role he took great pride in. His dedication to preserving history and sharing it with others was a true reflection of his generous and enthusiastic spirit.
Lars and Barbara shared a deep love for family, friends and community. They would always be at their grandchildren’s sports events or traveling to visit their grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Music also was an important part of their love story, from the early years when Lars played saxophone to their later years where they could be found dancing in the hallway of their home to “Through the Years” by Kenny Rogers.
Lars is survived by his two children, Trudi Burnside McKamey ,and her husband Mark; Lars Burnside Jr. and his wife Cindy. Lars has four grandchildren: Chandler Burnside Sawyer; Lars David Burnside III and his wife Audrianna; Nicole Woodruff and her husband Michael; and Kelsie Lipscomb and her husband Boden. He has nine great-grandchildren: Brayden; Kynslie; Keely and Bodie Lipscomb; Larson, Emma, and Liam Burnside; and Ridley and Sawyer Woodruff.
Graveside services for family and friends will be held at Sunrise Cemetery, 3315 Newburg Road, in Fortuna on Saturday, August 2 at 1 p.m. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Monday Club 610 Main Street, Fortuna, directly after the graveside service at 2 p.m.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Lars Burnside Sr.’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Control of KHSU, for the last four years managed by CSU Sacramento NPR affiliate CapRadio, will be returning to Cal Poly Humboldt by the end of this year. Control of NSPR will also return to Chico State University.
CapRadio has controlled the day-to-day operation of KHSU since 2021, when they obtained the managing agreement from Humboldt State University. The news broke June 18, when CapRadio’s Interim General Manager and President Frankie Maranzino announced the change after a monthly board meeting was postponed. (It’s now scheduled for July 2 at 5:30 and is open to the public.)
CapRadio’s chief marketing and revenue officer, Chris Bruno, said it’s a money-saving “business decision.”
“Our goal at the end of the day is to think about how we can be good partners and work collaboratively to transition operations back to the universities,” Bruno told CapRadio reporters in a briefing last month. “Our goal is to think about the future and the opportunity for CapRadio to operate sustainably and position ourselves for growth.”
CapRadio has struggled to stay solvent and has been accused of mismanaging funds. An audit done this year by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) found that CapRadio reported earnings over three years of almost $6 million that didn’t exist. Now, the CPB wants $200,000 from CapRadio to repay CPB grants.
In January, CapRadio sued its former general manager Jun Reina for embezzling over $370,000, accusing him of using CapRadio’s funds to cover personal expenses such as family vacations and golf course fees.
Bruno also claimed that CapRadio had lost over $280,000 running KHSU and NSPR the first two months of this fiscal year.
Representatives from Cal Poly Humboldt and Chico State shared this statement with employees on June 18:
As CapRadio shared with employees today, Chico State and Cal Poly Humboldt are in discussion with the organization to transfer the current operating arrangements of NSPR and KHSU back to our respective campuses. We are all committed to building a strong, sustainable future for local public media so that the stations remain trusted and reliable news sources for our Northern California and North Coast communities. We will ensure broadcasting continuity throughout the process. We look forward to sharing more details after the budget vote on July 2 and continuing discussions among the three university partners and license holders, Sacramento State, Chico State, and Cal Poly Humboldt.
Full article and reporting from CapRadio’s Chris Nichols and Sarit Laschinsky.
On June 26, 2025, at 4:30am, Arcata Police Officers interrupted a residential burglary in the 400 block of Shirley Boulevard. Three suspects fled on foot and the incident concluded with one suspect in custody after a foot pursuit.
APD Detectives identified an additional suspect as 47-year-old Arcata resident, Alvar Shane Sovereign. At 10:00pm that evening, APD Detectives conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Sovereign in the 1100 block of Spear Avenue in Arcata. Sovereign was arrested without incident for the burglary and fresh charges for felon in possession of ammunition, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A search warrant was served on a residence associated with Sovereign located in the 1100 block of Madrone Avenue in Arcata. The search yielded a firearm and methamphetamine. Sovereign was booked and lodged at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on an additional charge of felon in possession of a firearm.
APD continues to work toward the identification of any outstanding suspects and encourages anyone with information to contact the Arcata Police Department’s Investigations Unit, at 707-822-2424, or the Anonymous Crime Tipline, at 707-825-2588.
The Blue Lake City Council, which is down to four members following last month’s abrupt resignation of Chris Firor. | Screenshot from Tuesday’s meeting.
California’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is losing patience with the City of Blue Lake.
Earlier today that agency issued a letter to Acting City Manager Dani Burkhart rejecting the city council’s previously proposed nine-month timeline to adopt an updated housing element that complies with state law.
The city spent years drafting a housing element update that meets statutory requirements, but in March the current iteration of the city council elected not to adopt it. Members of the 3-2 voting majority voiced skepticism about the city’s development plans generally and a mixed-use Danco project in particular.
Today’s letter from HCD notes that Blue Lake is in violation of state law and says, as a result, the city has lost eligibility to receive a variety of state funds, including permanent local housing funds, infill infrastructure grants, Caltrans sustainable communities grants and more.
The letter also warns of additional financial and legal ramifications. Specifically, Blue Lake could face fines of $10,000 to $100,000 per month for “persistent noncompliance” with state law, with even steeper penalties possible if the state decides to sue.
“Other potential ramifications could include the loss of local land use authority to a court-appointed agent,” says the letter’s author, HCD Assistant Deputy Director of Local Government Relations and Accountability David Zisser. Jurisdictions that don’t have compliant housing elements are subject to the so-called Builder’s Remedy, which effectively takes away a jurisdiction’s ability to deny any very low- to moderate-income housing and emergency shelter developments that comply with state law.
The letter arrives just three days after the Blue Lake City Council agreed to very slightly shorten its timeline for adopting an updated housing element and completing the necessary rezones. The previously approved timeline was to complete the former task by Dec. 31 and the latter by no later than Feb. 28, 2026. However, HCD wasn’t satisfied by that plan, as the agency made clear in a previous letter, issued on April 30.
“HCD is requesting the City provide a revised and specific timeline for (1) completing necessary rezones, (2) submitting an updated draft housing element, and (3) obtaining compliance with Housing Element Law no later than May 30, 2025,” that letter said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the council approved a slight modification, promising to get both tasks completed by Dec. 15 — roughly two weeks earlier than previously promised for the housing element and two and a half months earlier for the rezoning.
Asked to comment on today’s letter from HCD, Blue Lake Mayor John Sawatzky emailed a written statement saying that the council’s actions on Tuesday “reaffirmed its commitment to achieving compliance with state housing mandates.”
He added that the council authorized staff to seek clarification from HCD on some technical issues, such as the city’s electronic sites inventory, which could allow the process to proceed “more efficiently.”
Sawatzky also suggested that this latest letter from HCD could have been “part of an automated notification [system],” adding, “we are seeking clarification on that detail.”
Reached by phone, City Councilmember Elise Scafani said that in the past, HCD has been very quick to respond to communications from staff, “So I’m a little concerned that [maybe] they don’t have our revised timeline,” she said. Scafani was under the impression that the revised timeline would allow HCD enough time to review and certify the updated housing element and rezones before the end of the calendar year.
“I think that [new timeline] was a good answer to their request,” Scafani said. “That’s why we picked that date.” At Tuesday’s meeting, Blue Lake City Planner Gary Rees, of SHN Consulting, said that after reaching out to HCD for clarification, agency staff said they wanted the city to move up its timeline for both items (the housing element update and the rezoning) by a month or two, minimum.
Four years ago, Blue Lake received $65,000 through the state’s Local Early Action Planning Grant (LEAP) program, and Scafani said the terms of that grant required the city to use that money to complete its 6th cycle housing element update by the end of the year.
Housing elements are a required component of each local jurisdiction’s general plan, which must be updated periodically to comply with state law. Housing elements in California must be updated every eight years, and they have to show how the local government plans to accommodate its fair share of regional housing needs across income levels, from very low to above moderate. For this latest planning cycle (the 6th), Blue Lake has been tasked with planning for 34 new dwelling units in its updated housing element.
Scafani said it’s possible that the city could adopt that housing element update and complete the required rezoning ahead of schedule — perhaps by October or November.
“The council is working hard to get all the work done,” she said, and she compared the municipal workload to drinking from a firehose. “We’ve been doing that for months now, and we’re just trying to stand up under the pressure.”
From the Office of Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire:
In a major milestone for the community of Del Norte, Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Chris Rogers announced a $40 million investment approved by the California Transportation Commission today to jumpstart the design phase of the long-awaited Last Chance Grade Project.
For decades, a 3-mile segment of Highway 101, just south of Crescent City, has been in a losing battle with the elements—with some of the most geologically unstable soil on earth crumbling, sliding, and washing away during heavy winter storms. As the lifeline that connects Del Norte County to rest of the state, this decades-long repair project is a critical economic investment for the North Coast.
Today’s $40 million state allocation, which will kick off the design phase of the project, builds upon the $50 million Senator McGuire already fought to secure to successfully complete the project’s environmental review. The state’s massive investment today marks a pivotal step toward a permanent fix for the landslide-prone section of highway.
Caltrans District 1 will now formally begin designing a new 6,000 foot tunnel that will bypass the unstable stretch of earth entirely, realigning Highway 101, and delivering the long-term solution this region has waited decades for. Once complete, it will be the longest tunnel in the state.
“Four words sum it up: It’s about damn time. This $40 million is a turning point for the project and will formally kick off the design phase of the 6,000 ft. tunnel through Last Chance Grade, finally delivering the secure route on Highway 101 that the North Coast deserves,” Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) said. “We’re so grateful for the partnership with city, county, and tribal leaders, local environmental groups, and the California Transportation Commission, who continue to work together to make the North Coast stronger and more disaster-ready for decades to come.”
“The restoration of the Last Chance Grade corridor doesn’t just provide more reliable transportation for this area, it also supports economic resilience and ensures our communities maintain access to essential services, even during emergencies,” said Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa). “I want to give a big thank you to Pro Tem McGuire and Congressman Huffman for their partnership in securing this $40 million down payment for connection and reliability in Del Norte County.”
Senator McGuire, alongside a powerful coalition of North Coast and tribal leaders and environmental groups, has been a driving force for the Last Chance Grade Improvement Project for the past ten years, securing historic state and federal investments to move the project forward. For more information about the Last Chance Grade Project, visit LastChanceGrade.com.
