Longtime City Commissioner Tom McTygue Has Died
Tom McTygue commemorated for his leadership during the unveiling of a plaque in Congress Park on June 29, 2022 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of the carousel in Congress Park. File photo.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Longtime Saratoga resident and City Council member Thomas McTygue has died.
“Our beloved Dad and Papa passed away peacefully last evening surrounded by family. Although our hearts are broken, we know how blessed we have been for so many years with such a wonderful man,” daughter Sharon McTygue announced in a social media posting on Sept. 25.
“He had immense love for our mom, my sisters and I and his five grandsons. He was never shy in acknowledging how fortunate he was to have celebrated close to 61 years of marriage with our mom, and how she was the reason our family was so close. The only thing bigger than my dad’s laughter and smile was his heart,” she wrote. “He has left an indelible mark on the lives of countless people and in our beautiful community.”
In June 2022 a ceremony was staged in Congress Park that celebrated McTygue’s leadership role in saving the carousel, as well as his longtime service as city Commissioner of the Department of Public Works.
“When I first took over, this place was loaded with drugs, people sleeping under the trees, it was all overgrown. We decided we were going to get involved and clean this place up. And that’s what we did,” McTygue said during the public ceremony.
McTygue sat on the City Council for 32 years, serving with eight mayors during his tenure that spanned the early 1970s to 2008.
Planning is underway for a mass service and a celebration of life ceremony to take place early next week, Sharon McTygue said.