Colorado community rallies to lay former Kremmling mayor to rest

An online fundraiser is looking to help soften the financial burden laid on the community after the former Kremmling mayor passed with no known relatives to help with his afterlife affairs.

The Kremmling Chamber of Commerce notified the small mountain town community their well known former mayor of 16 years, Tom Clark, had died just last month. One of his friends, John Temple II, said he quickly learned there was no one around to help with a funeral or even processing at the funeral home. 

"That is why I stepped up to create this fundraiser and give him the proper farewell he deserves," Temple said. "Tom was the type of mayor that every town needs, he always stood up for people and now I feel like it is our turn to stand up for Tom."

Aside from being a well known man about town and ambassador to new residents, Temple said Tom loved the outdoors and loved his town. 

"He did a lot for this town, got our water system up to date, he treated his role as mayor as if it was his full-time job," Temple said. "If he wasn't out walking around talking to the people here in Kremmling or business owners, he was in the town building trying to make the town a better place."

Temple said the very basic efforts to lay Tom to rest would cost around $1,600. He's currently fundraising with the community in order to reach that goal, something he said Tom would have done for him too.

"He was a real public servant in this community," Temple said.