July Rose Derryberry Tomasi

July Rose Derryberry Tomasi, age 62 of Columbus, Ohio, departed this life on Monday, December 16, 2024. Born on Independence Day 1962 in Lima, Ohio, July brought her own kind of fireworks to the world through her artistic vision and creative spirit. She graduated from Lima Senior High School in 1980 and continued her studies at the Ohio Institute of Photography in Dayton, Ohio where she studied Commercial Photography. She began her career working as a photojournalist for the Xenia Gazette and Hamilton Journal News, and later worked for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation as part of the communications team as a photojournalist for the Ohio's Workers' Compensation Insurance Magazine and the BWC Focus.

Possessing an exceptional ability to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, July could transform common items into captivating art. The garden was her sanctuary, and nature was her endless inspiration. In her earlier years, she found particular joy from riding and showing her cherished horse, Razzle Dazzle , and later in caring for her beloved adopted cats, who became part of her cherished family. Beyond her artistic pursuits, July was a voracious reader whose quick wit and wry sense of humor left lasting impressions on everyone she met.

July will be dearly missed by her family. She is survived by her mother Marta Leffler, her siblings Misty (Alphonse) Derryberry-Wieging, Quentin (David) Derryberry III, Ryan (Kari) Derryberry, Justin (Abigail) Derryberry, Gavin (Jennifer) Derryberry, and Ethan Derryberry, as well as her cousin Dove (Jack) Arnett, aunts Gail Derryberry and Joan (Ray) Derryberry and by her uncle Jon (Robin) Derryberry and loving friend Sabine Vogt. She is proceeded in death by her father Quentin Derryberry II, her aunt Nancie Leffler Cochensparger and uncle Wayne Derryberry. She will be laid to rest alongside her family at the Leffler homestead in Lima, Ohio, where her spirit will remain forever connected to the land she loved.