Steven W. Tower

• Captain
• Goffstown Fire Department
• New Hampshire
• Age: 54
• Year of Death: 2020

Steve would tell people that he strived to live by the Golden Rule: Treat others how you would like to be treated. With his quick-to-joke personality and easy nature, you knew this to be true as soon as you met him. But what his friends and family also knew to be true was that he was a selfless mentor and natural leader.

Steve was a long-standing resident of Goffstown, New Hampshire. He married the love of his life, Nancy, in 1989. They felt a great sense of community in Goffstown, and they chose to live and raise their sons, Kerry and Garrett, here. Steve, being the avid outdoorsman and sportsman, enjoyed teaching his sons everything he knew about fishing, hunting, archery, and sports. He loved coaching their baseball teams, cheering for them when they were playing football, and guiding them through life as they became men. He was so proud of all their accomplishments and the men that they were becoming.

Steve joined Goffstown’s fire department call force in May 1985 and started his full-time firefighting career for Goffstown in February 1987. His retirement in May 2015 allowed him more time to enjoy his passions. As a member of the Goffstown Fish and Game Association, he was able to volunteer more at his club and to develop their archery course and archery league. Steve was able to spend more time on education and community projects. In 2020, Steve was recognized for his ten years of volunteer service to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Hunter Education Program.

In March of 2019, Steve was asked by Goffstown’s Select Board to fill an interim fire chief position. He accepted the position because he never hesitated to help his community. He continued working for the department, both as interim deputy chief and training captain until the time of his death. Among helping with many advances throughout the GFD, Steve was instrumental in the town’s transition to 24/7 coverage.

Steve was able to positively effect many people in the Goffstown community and scores of firefighters in his lifetime. His family and friends know that the many small ripples he made in this large pond will continue when we strive to live by Steven’s Golden Rule.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” -John Quincy Adams