Toba received her bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado in 1963 and was married the same year. She lived most of her life in Chicago, residing in the Hyde Park-Kenwood neighborhood from 1967 to 2020, before moving full-time to the house she and Ed had owned in Key West for nearly 50 years.

Toba began her career as a magazine editor at Playboy, and then at the American Medical Association publication Today's Health. She worked at the AMA for 15 years, rising to the position of Director of Communications, before founding her consulting firm, CB Communications, in 1988. A respected expert in communication needs for physicians, hospitals and non-profit organizations, she provided services in public and media relations, publishing, film and video production, doctor-patient relations and courtroom testimony, until her retirement in 2011. She was awarded a master's degree in Communications from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1994.

Toba was openly and enthusiastically political, with a lifelong commitment to women's rights. As a member of the first generation to see women in large numbers enter the workforce and attain positions of authority in the United States, she worked tirelessly and fearlessly to overcome customs and prejudices that would limit women's potential: first, by her own example, and then by hiring, encouraging and mentoring, and always by her tenacious insistence on being recognized as an equal by men. She worked to legalize abortion, end the Vietnam War and ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and she loved to tell a story about bringing her young children to a rally and posing proudly with them for the benefit of the FBI mole taking pictures.

Toba was a woman of enormous energy and intelligence, gifted with natural leadership, initiative and practical wisdom. She had a great and open heart and was fiercely loyal. She smiled easily and loved nothing more than to share laughter, often accompanied by her generous hospitality. Wherever one found her, it seemed that everyone already knew her, and she evoked spontaneous expressions of affection and respect from people from every walk of life. Her greatest love and strongest commitments were for her family, especially her husband, Ed, and they went through life side by side, unflagging partners to the end.

Interment was on May 12 in the B'nai Zion section of Key West City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Congregation B'nai Zion.