Timothy Garvey, library advocate, dies at age 69

He and his wife, ex-Clearwater Mayor Rita Garvey, lobbied for the construction of a new main library.

By LORRI HELFAND, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 24, 2002

Timothy Wayne Garvey, former president of the Clearwater Library Foundation and the Clearwater Sister City exchange program, died Wednesday (May 22, 2002). Mr. Garvey, who was 69, had multiple myeloma, a cancer that attacks bones.

For more than 30 years, he and his wife, former Clearwater Mayor Rita Garvey, were avid supporters of Clearwater Public Library. They lobbied for the construction of a new main library in downtown Clearwater and last year donated $108,000 toward the project with money from the sale of a farm they had owned in Milbank, S.D. The couple also donated a sculpture for the Clearwater North Greenwood Library.

Mr. Garvey brought a new level of leadership to the board of the library foundation as its president, said Julie Lewis, foundation executive director. But beyond that, he left a legacy of kindness and optimism, she said.

"Everybody remembers him, and he would drop by, always with a smile," she said.

Mr. Garvey was born in Milbank, graduated from the College of St. Thomas with a degree in business economics and served in the Air Force.

He worked at Honeywell in Minneapolis and took a transfer to Clearwater in 1969. As a manager of contracts, he supervised Bob Breslo, who shared a friendship with him for more than 30 years.

"He was always a very friendly, outgoing guy, a loyal friend even in his sickness," Breslo said.

At Honeywell, Mr. Garvey was active in the Pinellas United Way and helped establish its retiree division after his own retirement 1991.

And Mr. Garvey joined his wife, who was mayor from 1987 to 1999, in helping lead Clearwater's Sister City exchange program with Nagano, Japan. He participated in cultural exchanges with several countries, including Hungary, Turkey, Russia and Germany through his involvement in the Friendship Force of Florida Suncoast, an international exchange program.

Mr. Garvey was a Philadelphia Phillies baseball fanatic and rarely missed a spring training game or any of the Clearwater Phillies minor league games.

He was a hands-on dad, managing his daughters' Junior Miss Softball games and coaching his son's soccer games, Mrs. Garvey said.

"He got involved helping with the team, as opposed to being the parent on the sideline," she said.

For the past few years, he was a volunteer docent for the Salvador Dali Museum, where he became a "Dali devotee," Mrs. Garvey said.

Other survivors include two daughters, Lisa Beckman, Tampa, and Cathy DelGrosso, Hallandale; a son, Michael, Orlando; two brothers, John, Webster, S.D., and Jim, Omaha, Neb.; and a sister, Mary Keller, of Huron, S.D.

Young's Funeral Home in Clearwater is in charge of the arrangements.

A memorial Mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Light of Christ Catholic Church in Clearwater. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the Tim Garvey Tribute Fund at the Clearwater Library Foundation, 121 N Osceola Ave., Clearwater.

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