Remembering Tom Towey: Spokane Valley dedicates Friday to past mayor who ‘cared about treating people well’

Allison Towey-McCarren ran her first marathon with her papa, Thomas Towey, in 2014. Now, she’s not sure if she’ll ever run another one.

Towey, who was mayor of Spokane Valley for two terms, died on July 9 after a 13-month battle with pulmonary fibrosis. On Tuesday night, the Spokane Valley City Council made Friday Tom Towey Day, calling for citizens to lower their flags in honor of the 82-year-old Friday .

Towey-McCarren, 28, started running with Towey before she became a teen, her little legs jogging alongside his in 3-mile, 5-mile and even 10-mile races. As Towey-McCarren grew, the races got longer and turned into marathons.

The two ran on asphalt, dirt roads, in the heat and in the cold together for years. They even had matching shirts that said “My inspiration is papa” and “My inspiration is Allison.” They began each race together and ended every race together, holding hands as they crossed the finish line, Towey-McCarren said.

Now a hospice nurse at Horizon Hospice, Towey-McCarren wore her “My inspiration is papa” shirt to the City Council meeting on Tuesday.

To this day, Towey-McCarren can’t quite remember their completion times.

“It was never about time. It was never about trying to PR. It was just about going out, moving my body and having a great time bonding with papa,” she said.

The grandfather and granddaughter had a close connection for as long as she has been alive. Towey became her father figure.

“He was honestly the most amazing human I’ve ever met,” Towey-McCarren said.

And that connection remained until Towey died. Towey-McCarren was there that day, holding his hand as he took his last breath. She pronounced him dead with the same stethoscope Towey had bought her when she got into nursing school. Everything she did with him was out of pure, unconditional love, Towey-McCarren said.

Admittedly, Towey-McCarren didn’t even like running. In fact, on one occasion, she told Towey that she hated it.

“He asked, ‘Then why are you here?’ and I said, ‘Well, somebody’s got to run with you,’ ” Towey-McCarren said. “It was an honor to complete those races with him.”

During every race, Towey carried a fanny-pack filled with Advil, Band-aids and Vaseline in case anyone on the course needed it. Their first marathon together was in Honolulu. Their last marathon, Towey’s 50th, was in Dublin in 2017.

Those races are memories that will stay with her forever, Towey-McCarren said.

And fond memories of Towey are not uncommon among the folks who knew him, including some past and present Spokane Valley employees.

Some memories exist in paintings across the city, including one that hung in Cary Driskell’s home. Driskell was the city attorney for Spokane Valley from 2003 to 2023 and worked closely with Towey when he was mayor.

When he heard that Driskell’s then-6-year-old son Cooper was a fan of trains, Towey painted a steam engine for Cooper. The train, which had Cooper’s name painted on its side, hung on his bedroom wall until he left for college last year, Driskell said.

Over the past six years, Towey also painted and gave away 618 angels to locals.

“Tom really cared about treating people well,” Driskell said. “Tom really made an effort to encourage people to participate in our city government. He thought it was really critical to give our citizens ample opportunity to interact with their elected officials and staff.”

Ben Wick, a current member of the city council, worked with Towey for several years.

“I really appreciated Tom. He was always about trying to build consensus and represent people in the best way possible,” Wick said. “He was a quiet, sweet guy. He didn’t want the limelight on himself.”

When Wick was first elected as a member of the City Council, Towey was one of the first people to call and congratulate him.

“He did a lot for us,” Wick said. “He served as mayor for four years and did a lot to try and bring the city together.”

Amongst all the grief, one thing is clear: Towey changed lives.

“He was just such a huge part of my life,” Towey-McCarren said, tearing up. “There’s that loss, the pain of just not being able to call him about different life events and accomplishments. Not having that is really painful, but I know I have his love. He’s my inspiration.”

Towey’s celebration of life will be at 3:30 p.m. on Friday at CenterPlace Event Center. Towey is survived by his wife, Karen; his children Melissa Fryer and William Towey; three granddaughters and two great grandsons.