Naomi Evlyn Beard Komosa’s birthday party on Monday saw an abundance of food, gifts, and visitors, including the Dean of Lindsey Wilson College Dean Adams and Columbia Mayor Pam Hoots.
The occasion was resplendent in activity and reverence for the birthday girl.
And why should it not be? After all, you are only 102 once.
Born in Adair County on August 5, 1922, Komosa’s life began the way many people’s do in south central Kentucky—on a farm. Growing up in the area between Columbia and Taylor County in the Coburg community, she assisted her parents George and Edith Beard with chores around the farmstead.
“Did I farm? No,” Komosa laughed, then clarified, “I did anything I could. I was a child.”
For a time, Komosa worked in Louisville assisting the war effort. There, she met then-Lieutenant Colonel Adam Anthony Komosa. In 1949, after the war (and after he became Captain), the two wed.
Capt. Komosa served in the 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II. On January 1945, Komosa drew fire to himself to allow his company to advance toward the enemy position. These actions awarded him the Silver Star.
Due to her husband’s illustrious military career, Komosa lived much of her life abroad. She called France home for three years, during which time she journeyed with her husband back to Normandy where he fought on D-Day and visited other European countries. When her husband’s tour of duty ended and he retired from military service, Capt. Komosa decided to get his PhD and teach. This journey brought the couple to Mexico for a year and a half so he could attend school.
“I loved (living in France). The people were good to us… We lived along the English Channel, and I remember that most of all… You know, people exaggerate living in other countries. People are people just wherever you go. And I found Mexico much the same way,” Komosa said.
Returning to the States, the Komosas still found themselves traveling. For a time, Komosa worked as a secretary at Indiana University in Bloomington. They also lived in other places around the country including the upper peninsula of Michigan.
Eventually, the Komosas returned to Adair County, settling down on the same farm that Komosa was raised on where they lived until Capt. Komosa died in 1998. While living there, Capt. Komosa was a professor of history at Lindsey Wilson College. Due to their involvement in the campus and community, Naomi Komosa was eventually named an honorary alumnus of the college. She currently endows a scholarship for aspiring history students in honor of her late husband.
These days, Komosa still keeps herself busy. She is a “master bridge player,” according to her friend (and fellow bridge player) Yvonne Marshall. She also has been involved for a long time with the gardening club. Another of her lifelong hobbies has been painting. During her birthday party, Mayor Hoots brought a painting that Komosa painted for her several years earlier and requested that she sign it.
She also enjoys spending time with her friends such as Sheila Lynch, a Rhode Islander turned Adair Countian who was not only integral in putting together her birthday party, but acts as a sort-of Komosa historian, able to give details on Capt. Komosa’s military decorations and the generations of Beards that lived in Columbia before Naomi.
“She’s sharp as a tack,” Lynch said of her friend.
Reflecting on her life, Komosa says the one lesson she would like everyone to learn is, “Be nice to other people. That would be the most important thing.”
By Kenley Godby
kenley@adairvoice.com
