News Release from: Portland Parks & Recreation
PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION BIDS FAREWELL TO RICHARD "DICK" TOWLE
Posted: August 15th, 2012 4:13 PM
Photo/sound file: http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2012-08/1399/56812/Dick_Towle_2.jpg (The plaque destined for Columbia Children's Arboretum honoring the late Richard "Dick" Towle. Courtesy: Portland Parks & Recreation, Portland, OR)
Photo/sound file: http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2012-08/1399/56812/Dick_Towle_4.jpg (The late Richard "Dick" Towle. Courtesy: Portland Parks & Recreation, Portland, OR)
Photo/sound file: http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2012-08/1399/56812/Dick_Towle_1.jpg (PP&R staffers, left and right, with the late Richard "Dick" Towle, center. Courtesy: Portland Parks & Recreation, Portland, OR)
Friend and Columbia Children's Arboretum Advocate Passes Away
(Portland, OR) -
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) announces with sadness the passing of Richard "Dick" Towle (pronounced TOLL). The longtime Portlander with a passion for parks died on Thursday, August 9, at age 85.
"We've lost a great friend and advocate," says Alex Salazar, PP&R Facilities Maintenance Supervisor, in an email urging bureau employees to keep the family in their thoughts.
The late Dick Towle and his wife, Gyrid (Jer-EED), have been residents of the East Columbia neighborhood for many years. In that time they played very active roles in park advocacy, volunteerism, and fundraising - most notably for the Columbia Children's Arboretum. The Towles belonged to the East Columbia Neighborhood Association (ECNA), working with PP&R on numerous community enhancement activities.
Dick and Gyrid organized numerous work parties over the years to clean up natural areas, to remove invasive blackberries, and to build a soft-surface path in the Columbia Children's Arboretum. Some of their other efforts included neighborhood celebrations in the park, planting events, Earth Day clean-up efforts, working on the development and realization of the Arboretum's Master Plan, and planting native vegetation. Dick and Gyrid were also supporters of the Columbia Slough Watershed Council.
"When l first started as a Portland Parks & Recreation supervisor, Dick walked me through a tall grass field covered with blackberries and small apple trees at the end of a field," recalls Louie Guerrero, PP&R Services Supervisor. "He said he called it the Columbia Children's Arboretum because nearby schoolchildren would walk through and enjoy the natural area that was his backyard."
Dick and his neighbors spent countless hours mowing grass and pruning to keep the park in top shape for all users. Today, Dick's dream continues to be realized in the area officially known as Portland Parks & Recreation's Columbia Children's Arboretum at 10040 NE 6th Ave, off NE Meadow Drive. PP&R acquired the land in 1999 and established a master plan for the area in 2004.
Dick and Gyrid were instrumental in raising money for the trust fund that was set up by ECNA for work in the park (in conjunction with Multnomah County Drainage District #1.) They raised nearly $132,000 from public and private sources. These funds were used to make improvements to the drainage ditches through and around the park, and to plant native plants on the ditch banks. As a result of their efforts, two bridges were installed to provide access to the park from NE Meadow Drive and between the two sections of the arboretum. The bridges replaced culverts and were made out of recycled railroad car frames.
Portland Parks & Recreation will honor the contributions of Dick and Gyrid Towle with a placard soon to be installed in the Columbia Children's Arboretum. Plans for this honor were underway prior to Dick's death.
"The bridges in the arboretum will deservedly be known as the Towle Bridges," says Salazar, the PP&R staffer who arranged for the placard to be made. The plaque will be mounted on a stone near the Towle Bridges in the near future.
A memorial service is tentatively set for August 24 at Willamette National Cemetery, with a gathering to follow at a site to be determined.
The Towle family invites well-wishers to donate to the Columbia Children's Arboretum. Please send contributions to:
Columbia Children's Arboretum - NPCW
2209 N. Schofield
Portland, OR 97217
More info on the Columbia Children's Arboretum:
http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=15&PropertyID_new_value=false
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