BINGHAMTON NY – Thomas Peter Zlomek, 66, a resident of the Bridgewater Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Binghamton, died there on All Souls Day (Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025). He is one of seven children born to the late Frederick M. and Muriel (Dorothy) Pyle Zlomek, formerly of New Bern NC.
He is a younger brother of Joe Zlomek, managing editor of The Post Publications in Pottstown.
Peter, as he preferred to be called, was a man of faith, and was blessed with many skills and talents. He is greatly missed by his family.
He grew up in Utica NY and Liverpool NY, and graduated from Liverpool Central High School as a New York State Regents scholar. While in Utica, Peter was a participant in the Naval Reserve Officers’ Junior Training Corps, and successfully completed two years of naval education and training.
During his years at home Peter regularly worked beside, and learned from, his mother. Dorothy was for many years a home economics teacher in public schools, and taught all her children the basics of managing a household.
Peter was particularly drawn to cooking, and pursued it after high school. He graduated with a degree from The Culinary Institute of America, and was hired to teach culinary arts at Johnson and Wales College in South Carolina.
It was there he met his wife of 36 years, Katie (Kathryn), who also was a Johnson and Wales instructor. They have two sons: Pete F. and Philip, and two grand-daughters: Ellie, age 10; and Lila, 5. Peter and Katie over the years also served as foster parents to several other children placed in their care.
Motivated By Faith, Gifted With Evangelism
Motivated by his faith, Peter attended and graduated with an associate’s degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina. He had a gift for evangelism, and was known for his devotion to spreading the Gospel. He served as a minister at Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Raleigh NC. Peter additionally participated in mission trips to Haiti and China.
Peter also continued to pursue his religious education while in Raleigh. He graduated from Shaw University with a bachelor’s degree in religion and philosophy, and twice received university certificates of academic achievement.
Katie later joined him in ministerial duties. Together they were ordained as ministers of Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle Church in Richmond VA.
The Zlomeks are in part of Irish descent, and Ireland felt like home to Peter. He visited there several times with his young family to see the country, and to meet generational family members. After significant research, he obtained his Irish citizenship.
When Katie’s aging parents required full-time care-giving, Peter and Katie sold their North Carolina home and moved to New York. They took on those duties as they also continued to raise their family.
Entrepreneurial Spirts, Too
Entrepreneurism was as much a part of the couple’s beliefs as their faith.
Peter and Katie developed a product called Torah Tunes, and created a company, Kefa Kemolz Productions. It designed and distributed calendars and other accessories to promote the word of God.
They also created a successful and cutting-edge commercial food products business, Katie’s Irish Kitchen, in Binghamton. It developed, made, and sold gluten-free consumer products well before that industry was regulated.
Peter developed early-onset dementia, and was moved to Bridgewater for continued care. While there, its staff reports, he regularly assisted fellow patients by pushing wheelchairs so they could have a change of scenery, holding the hand of someone missing family, and generally offering help wherever he saw a need.
- He is survived by his wife Katie, sons Pete F. and Philip, and grandchildren Ellie and Lila.
- Surviving brothers and sisters are Joe, and his wife Debbie; Matthew, and his wife Nancy; Elizabeth, and her partner Joe; Mary Guditis, and her husband Chuck; Cathy; and Marc, and his wife Stefanie.
- Surviving 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.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Wm. R. Chase & Son Funeral Home, 737 Chenango St., Port Dickinson NY. A celebration of Peter’s life is scheduled Friday (Nov. 7) at 10 a.m., with a funeral service at 11 a.m. Burial will follow in Chenango Valley Cemetery.
Those wishing to honor Peter’s memory are asked to consider making a donation to the Catherine’s Cupboard food pantry in Binghamton NY.
Photo provided to Travels With The Post
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