Tom Harpool’s friends knew him as a civic leader, gardener, businessman and Denton icon.

Harpool, 91, died Wednesday night, leaving numerous accomplishments and grateful friends and family in his wake.

“I know of no finer gentleman than Tom Harpool,” said Denton school district Superintendent Ray Braswell. “The impact that he had on the schools, on the city, on the county and on any person he ever worked with cannot be measured or appreciated enough.”

Born May 11, 1918, Harpool graduated from Denton High School in 1935 and North Texas State College — now the University of North Texas — in 1939. He became a farm operator and manager of the Denton County Pedigreed Seed Growers Association. He helped open R.T. Harpool and Son in 1939.

Harpool spent most of his life working, serving others and helping build up the town he lived in, his friends say. Many credit Harpool with helping to lay the groundwork for development in Denton.

Local historian Nita Thurman said Harpool served on the Denton utilities board for 30 years and the Texas municipal power agency board for many years, and helped organize the Upper Trinity Regional Water Supply District board.

He served on a city committee that studied Denton’s water plans and helped move the city from well water to surface water, she said, and that decision led to the development of Ray Roberts Lake.

“He was the quintessential external-thinking individual. It was rarely about Tom. It was nearly always about what was best for the community,” said Chuck Carpenter, president of the Denton Chamber of Commerce.

He said Harpool was a main player in negotiating water rights for the city.

“He’s probably least known, but did the most, for water rights for the city of Denton,” Carpenter said.

He said Harpool had the forward thinking to realize the city would grow and that its residents would need a water supply to fit the growth.

Harpool was active and attended many chamber of commerce meetings, Carpenter said.

“Every time I saw him, it was like, ‘I’m up, I’m ready, let’s go and do something,’” Carpenter said. “It will be very hard to replace someone that, to his dying day, was a very active, very loyal person.”

Longtime Denton businessman Marvin Ramey said Harpool was dedicated to his family and the community. The two served together for 30 years on various city boards and on the executive committee for the Denton Savings Association, Ramey said.

“I always found Tom to be a top-notch friend and businessman,” Ramey said. “He was fair and square in all his dealings, and he made it a special point to spend a lot of time with the city.”

Serving on the public utility board was among Harpool’s many contributions to the community, Ramey said. “He was chairman for years, and he did an outstanding job.”

But Harpool always made his family a priority, Ramey said.

“He never did let his business take too much time away from his family,” Ramey said. “He was a good family man ... religious, a gentleman and a scholar.”

Harpool helped the community get through agriculture problems, said Roy Appleton Jr., retired former publisher of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

For years, Harpool had an ad called “Tips from Tom” that offered tips for planting time, fertilizer and other agriculture issues.

“He was active in state and regional agricultural organizations,” Appleton said. “He was involved in so many different things, he just didn’t give it lip service; whatever he was in, he worked at it.”

Harpool had seven children with his wife, Rebecca.

Bettye Myers had known Harpool since 1961 and knew him as a businessman, school board member and Kiwanian.

“He’s an icon. He is not only old Denton, but he is current Denton,” Myers said. “We have some people who never progressed. Tom is as relevant today as he was 40 years ago.”

The trees along Carroll Boulevard will always serve as a reminder to Myers of Harpool’s legacy. “Tom planted those, and he was responsible for carrying buckets all summer long to keep those trees alive.”

She is thankful for the school district dedicating a school — Tom Harpool Middle School, which opened last year — to him while he was alive.

“He got to experience it and realize people appreciated him,” Myers said. “I loved Tom Harpool and admired him. I will miss his personal presence. He is going to live on in our hearts, and when we see things like those trees, he’ll always be present.”

Services are pending with Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home.

Staff writers Les Cockrell and Britney Tabor contributed to this report.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com.