Thomas Towlerton

Thomas H. Towlerton age 80 of New Hampton, IA, died Thursday, July 15, 2021, at the Colonial Manor of Elma. A public Celebration of Life will be held 2:00-5:00 p.m. Saturday, JULY 31, 2021 at the Pinicon in New Hampton. Hugeback Johnson Funeral Home and Crematory in New Hampton is honored to be serving the Towlerton family. To share a special memory or condolence, please visit www.hugebackfuneralhome.com Thomas Herbert Towlerton was born March 25, 1941, in Independence, IA, the “middle son” of Wesley and Davina C. Hood’s three boys. He received his education in Independence, where he met his future wife, Marsha Fisher, who met on a “food run” to Jesup. They began dating and decided that they were made for each other — exchanging wedding vows on April 11, 1963, in Morrison, Illinois. The family grew to include Tami, Bryan, Chris, and Traci, and they grew up with a father who might have been strict but loved them with all of his heart. Tom loved cars — when he was courting Marsha, he ran through the list of cars he had owned and it took up most of the drive to and from Cedar Rapids — so for several years, he leased and ran a DX service station. He worked with a friend to build a race track in Independence and also farmed with that friend before trying his hand at used car sales. In 1967, he took a job as a district circulation supervisor for the Waterloo Courier, and although he later became an independent contractor for the newspaper, all told he helped get the Courier out of the building and into the hands of readers for 36 years before retiring in 2003. The Towlertons lived in Waterloo for many years before moving to Waucoma when they bought the Waucoma Campground in 1998 and ran it until 2008. Tom also worked at Dick Witham Ford as a sales manager in the parts department from 2004 until he “re-retired" in 2008. Tom had a passion for cars. Marsha laughs when she remembers the day early in their marriage when the family’s driveway looked like a “used car lot.” She told her husband this was the day to get rid of one of those cars, so he drove one to a dealership and traded it for two different cars. He loved racing and worked at many tracks in both Iowa and Minnesota. He loved spending time with his children, his 10 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren. He could tell a story — often he re-told his story — with gusto, and he was known to have an Old Milwaukee or two. Tom and Marsha enjoyed the simple things in life. They had as much fun on their drives around the countryside as other couples did taking overseas vacations. Tom was also an avid fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes, and for four years, he and Marsha had a concession truck named “Dog on the Run” that had a spot on Melrose Avenue every fall Saturday the Hawks were playing at Kinnick Stadium. Tom was a salesman and a people person. He could strike up conversations with perfect strangers and treat them like he had known them for years, so his health issues — Parkinson’s, Bell’s Palsey, and dementia — that led to the Towlertons moving to New Hampton in 2017 were especially heartbreaking. His wife of 58 years, his kids, his grandchildren, and his greats will miss him dearly, but they are also so appreciative that he is no longer suffering, but tinkering with cars, having a beer, and enjoying life in Heaven. Survivors include his wife, Marsha of New Hampton; four children, Tami (Willie) McFarland of LaPorte City, Bryan (Nichole) Towlerton of Waterloo, Chris (Shelly) Towlerton of Ft. Dodge, Traci (Steve) Perry of Waucoma; ten grandchildren; twenty great-grandchildren; two brothers, Jim (Lisa) Towlerton of Burlington, Rick Towlerton of Boone. He was preceded in death by his parents.