Members of the current Kamloops council have lamented the loss of former councillor Tom Wallace, who passed away last Wednesday.

Wallace was an agrologist by trade who was also an avid fan of the Kamloops Junior Oilers and, later, the Kamloops Blazers. He was a longtime season ticket holder according to the Blazers.

Mayor Ken Christian offered condolences to Wallace’s wife, Doreen, and children Alex, Todd, Dale and Greg – who is also known as Spike.

“Tom was, I think, everyone would recognize him as Mr. Valleyview or the mayor of Valleyview. And in fact he was on the council of the Township of Valleyview from 1960 until 1972, when amalgamation occurred in Kamloops. And then he was part of the new, amalgamated council, our council, from 1972 to 1974… Certainly a pioneer in Kamloops and one who was also attuned to civic issues and civic matters, and shared those widely,” Christian said.

Councillor Arjun Singh said also expressed his sadness in Wallace’s passing, and offered positive thoughts of his wife and kids.

He shared a story of Doreen and a meeting he was involved with of a local society years ago, in the upstairs lounge of the Sandman Centre.

“I remember very clearly… Mrs. Wallace came in with a big map, and before I ever heard of the word Ajax she said ‘this is going to be the biggest issue to hit Kamloops in years.’ And boy was she ever right. And she was telling us all about this mine proposal that none of us had heard about before,” Singh said.

“Very astute family, and we’re going to miss Mr. Wallace dearly, and I wish the very best for his family who I’ve had many interactions with over the years.”

Wallace was 95 years old.