Two late and distinguished local residents who made their mark in business, local government and organized labor will soon be honored with plaques at the newly opened police and fire department facility.

T.R. “Tommy” Thompson and Robert “Bob” Schubert were nominated for the memorials by at-large councilor Leon Lamer at the Sept. 23 city council meeting.

The measure was approved 6-0 — with one councilor absent.

“Tommy Thompson served several terms as mayor and worked diligently to see the community through the troublesome and challenging Iowa Trust Scandal,” Lamer said. “Bob Shubert was a strong advocate for police and firefighters. Bob helped set up the first state police auxiliary.”

Lamer said Thompson’s plaque should be placed in the facility’s lobby, while Schubert’s should be in the joint police and fire department training room.

Thompson was a Gilman native and World War II veteran. As a Lennox Manufacturing employee for 42 years, as vice president and general manager, he was respected by fellow managers and Lennox workers affiliated with United Auto Workers Local #893.

He believed strongly in promoting from within.

“Work hard, work smart and give back,” was his credo.

When retirement beckoned, he took out nomination papers for mayor, thinking if he won he could transition into a busy, but less challenging lifestyle.

Thompson won, but was soon confronted with a massive problem that shook the foundation of city hall.

In 1992, Marshalltown was one of dozens of municipalities that found their investment funds frozen when their investment manager, Steven Wymer, was accused of fraud in handling their money.

Wymer was convicted of securities fraud and served time in prison in connection with his mismanagement of $1.2 billion in money from state and local governments. Roughly $10 million of that amount was Marshalltown’s reserve fund.

Marshalltown recovered only a small portion of that amount, which set the city back financially for many years.

City departments were forced to lay off staff and cut back services and programming.

It took a number of years for the city to completely recover.

The incident also resulted in many residents distrusting city government.

However, Thompson was credited with steering the city through the tough times and was-re-elected, serving three terms.

Thompson died April 24, 2018, at age 90.

Schubert aggressively represented Marshalltown’s predominately working-class first ward for nearly 25 years.

He worked at Dunham-Bush for more than 40 years, and was a proud and active member of the United Auto Workers Local No. 893.

Schubert was an early proponent of improved facilities for police and firemen.

“Bob always supported the workers in our community,” first ward councilor Sue Cahill said. “He had a special passion for firefighters and police officers. I know he is smiling down on the new facility so each worker can do their best job in protecting and serving our community.”

Schubert died Feb. 27, 2017 at age 78.

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Contact Mike Donahey

at 641-753-6611 or

mdonahey@timesrepublican.com