In 2025, Chicago lost a political activist who had a “deep passion for social justice and civil rights.” Toni Preckwinkle wrote, “Rebecca dedicated her life to advancing women’s rights and worked tirelessly to help women win elected office.” Rebecca also worked tirelessly to get Harold Washington elected mayor of Chicago. 

Rebecca’s interest in social justice began early. A story told at her November 8th Memorial at the Newberry Library came from a Carleton College classmate. Early in their college careers, after a late-night chat, they decided that they should take the president of the college out to lunch. The next day they appeared at his office with that request—to the astonishment of the President’s secretary—and he went! At the lunch, they presented to him all the things they thought Carleton could improve upon. One was that Carleton’s health services needed a gynecologist who would be comfortable speaking to female students about menstruation and other female issues. Before they graduated, Mayo Clinic sent a gynecologist once a week to Carleton.

Rebecca’s leadership in women’s issues was practical. She co-founded and led the Midwest Women’s Center (MWC) in the 1980s, which published the Women’s Directory, a guide to services of concern to women. Under her leadership, MWC focused on employment training for women, especially in jobs not previously open to them. She wrote and received grants from both the City and State for MWC. (Rebecca was known to be a very good fundraiser.) She joined the board of the National Abortion Rights Action League and was a founding board member of the Chicago Foundation for Women.  

Rebecca’s support of Harold Washington began early. When he asked her to support his run for mayor, she became co-chair of the Women’s Network for Washington along with Addie Wyatt, Rev. Willie Barrow, and Nancy Jefferson. At the time, she was working for the Playboy Foundation, which supported her work for Washington. High level staff even worked with Rebecca to fundraise for his bid for mayor.

Mayor Washington appointed Rebecca to the Chicago Park District board, where she became chair of the Finance Committee. Governor Jim Thompson appointed her to the Illinois Human Rights Commission. From serving on state and city boards, Rebecca learned the workings of government, knowledge that she used to advise women politicians and candidates seeking leadership roles. She taught courses in women and public leadership at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy as well as at other institutions and wrote three practical guides, the first of which was Every Day is Election Day: A Woman’s Guide to Winning Any Office, from the PTA to the White House.

Rebecca and her husband, Steve Tomashefsky, loved Chicago blues and gospel music, one of the reasons they came to Chicago. She also collected American studio ceramics, mostly by women, donating parts of the collection to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and to the Smithsonian Institution. Her final passion was gardening at their huge property in Southwest Michigan. When Rebecca took a project on, whether for social justice or for private enjoyment, she did it BIG.

In September of 2023, Rebecca suffered a massive stroke that left her in a coma for several weeks. She fought back to the point of being able to communicate. Her husband plus wonderful caregivers cared for her until her death.