Etna community remembers late Mayor Tom Rengers

Etna residents are still reeling from the loss of their long-time mayor in December.

Tom Rengers, 71, had a 30-year career in Etna politics, serving as a council member for 11 years and then as mayor for 19. He died on Dec. 7 from prostate cancer.

Known as a family man and a friendly face around town, Rengers had his hands in a little bit of everything happening around the community.

“He was out volunteering with nearly every group in the community,” said current Mayor Robert Tuñón. “He came to all of the borough’s events.”

Rengers and his wife, Sandy, formed the Etna Deck Hockey Association with residents, which drew young players from surrounding areas. He was a founding member of the Etna Economic Development Corporation, served on its board for years and remained an active member of the organization until his passing. Rengers was also a member of the Etna Neighborhood Association for decades. He acted as chairman of the Etna Holiday Committee and was the president of the board of Etna Commons.

Tuñón said that even when his health began to dwindle, Rengers still made appearances at community events in late November. He worked with Rengers for 10 years, first bonding over making Etna an eco-district, and then working on opening a public library for the borough. Tuñón said that in 2017, Rengers came to him and asked if he had any interest in being the mayor.

“I told him no,” Tuñón said. “I told him that I wanted him to be mayor, that it was my dream to open this library together and (he’s) there for the ribbon cutting.”

When Rengers was in hospice care, he spoke with Etna council president Dave Becki, and let him know that he still wanted Tuñón to take his place as mayor after his death. Becki asked Tuñón to write a letter of interest, and he was sworn in in January.

Tuñón said that it was very emotional to receive the call from Becki, because he didn’t know if Rengers still felt that way or had that same opinion about him taking over as mayor. He said that he was honored to know that his friend held such a high opinion of him.

“Tom and I were about 30 years different in age,” he said. “I learned from him. He was an excellent mentor, a great supporter in all things and I loved working for him.”

Etna Borough manager and close friend of Rengers Mary Ellen Ramage grew up just down the street from him and became close with him once he joined council in 1993. She said that he had a positive attitude that was infectious to whoever he interacted with.

“He was always the first one there, working hard and the last one to leave,” Ramage said. “He was such a big presence there. He was so positive.”

Ramage said that Rengers was extremely passionate about beautification projects, one of which was street sweeping that took place every third Saturday of the month. Rengers had borough officials and volunteers wake up early on the weekend and sweep the roads. It wasn’t long before he turned the day into a small block party by making hotdogs and playing music for residents.

“He made volunteering fun,” Ramage said. “He made you just get into the spirit of having pride for your community. He was the biggest cheerleader.”

Rengers helped set up for every Light Up Night and Art Tour, building tents for each. He helped paint the Pine Street Bridge, even hanging off the side to ensure he didn’t “miss a spot.” During each project, his unrelenting positivity shined through the long hours of labor. His friends and coworkers described him as a talker, constantly using his voice to inspire others and lift their spirits. Becki said that they had to turn off Rengers’s microphone during public speeches because of how long he would talk.

“It was very hard for me to be in the funeral home with him,” Ramage said. “I had never been in a room with him where he was silent.”

When Covid hit, Rengers took the lead on making sure food donations to the Bread of Life Food pantry did not stop, including convincing his church, All Saints Church-Saint Matthew Parish, to donate a room for another donation drop off site. He manned the post to collect drop-offs several times a week and loaded his own truck to get the food to the pantry.

“He just deeply, deeply cared about people in the community,” Ramage said.

Alexis Weber, director of the Bread of Life Food Pantry, said that Rengers was an integral part of the organization.

“He was a wonderful presence,” Weber said. “Tom was always down there, getting the food, checking expiration dates. He would bring the food up in his truck to the Bread of Life every Tuesday. After he helped stalk the room, he would then sit down to have coffee with us.”

Weber said that Rengers always wanted to know how they were doing and if there were enough donations. After his passing, his family directed mourners to make donations to the pantry in lieu of flowers.

“It was so easy to like him to get to know him,” she said. “His absence is a void. I think of him most on Tuesdays because that was our time. He knew every one of our volunteers by name.”

Becki, a friend of Rengers for nearly 40 years, said that any project that Rengers did, he was right there next to him.

“Tom was a hard person not to be friends with,” Becki said. “He had an outgoing personality and he always made you feel welcome.”

He said that Rengers was tireless.

“No matter what you thought you were done doing, Tom always had to think about it and come up with another idea to add and make the project even better,” Becki said.

He said that he loved Rengers like a brother. This, combined with their strong personalities, frequently led them to friendly bickering.

“We always bickered,” Becki said. “That’s what friends are for. If he didn’t win his argument during the project, if we sat down to have a drink together, he would continue the argument until he convinced me that he was right.”

Rengers remained humble through everything he did. Ramage said that while he loved to use his voice to inspire people and get work done, he was quiet about his accomplishments within his community. She said that rather than talking about what he wanted to do, he just went ahead and did it.

“There’s definitely a hole in the community,” Ramage said.

Outside of his accomplishments, Ramage said that Rengers was the first one on the dance floor for every event. She said he was fully present and engaged in everything that was happening around him. He was utterly devoted to his wife, children and grandchildren, as well as his faith.

“He was like the smile in the room, the sun shining,” Ramage said.