Garrett "Garry" Sewall Towle

Jul 30, 1949 -

Aug 10, 2021

Garrett "Garry" Sewall Towle, 72, passed away at home on Aug. 10, 2021, after a six-year battle with cancer. Garry was born on July 30, 1949, in Aberdeen, Washi., to Eldon Joyce Towle and Barbara Jeanne Jordan. He graduated from Highline High School in Burien, Wash., in 1967, and moved to Alaska with his young family in 1973.

A member of Carpenters Local Union #1281 since 1973, Garry worked in commercial construction, specializing in metal studs and drywall. During his 40-year career in construction, Garry worked primarily for Pacific Partition Systems and KC Corporation, and was a small business owner, operating GT Drywall on the Kenai Peninsula. Garry would ultimately become the Superintendent on multiple jobs, sometimes simultaneously, and his impact on Alaska's skyline reaches from the North Slope to Adak and everywhere in between.

Garry loved living in Alaska and showing it off to visiting family and friends. He took countless visitors to Portage Glacier and enjoyed many fishing trips, including one with his uncle LeRoy and an annual fishing adventure on the Kenai River with several of his childhood friends. He enjoyed fishing, clam digging, classic cars and NASCAR races. He loved his family and enjoyed many trips to Washington state visiting his extended family there. Garry never met a stranger and was an ultimate storyteller.

Garry was preceded in death by his mother; father; and sister, Diana. He is survived by his partner, Teresa "Jewell" Helstrom; his children, Garrett William Towle and Kristi Cruz (Tom Wellenstein), whom he shared with his former spouse, Margaret Coleman; sister, Jan Doisher (Bobby); granddaughters, Talia Cruz and Zelma Rose Rudd; and several nieces and nephews. A celebration of life will be held in Port Angeles, Wash., in the spring of 2022.