Tow trucks recently lined several downtown Everett streets, a testament to how Tom Nisson spent his life.

Companies from all over the Puget Sound region dispatched trucks and drivers out of respect for a longtime competitor. Nisson, an Edmonds resident, was the founder of Day and Nite Towing in north Seattle.

“Words can’t describe Tom. He was the man. I worked for the guy 10 years, and I loved him,” Jeff McCaulley of Seattle said at Nisson’s funeral Feb. 15.

The service concluded with a convoy of trucks from Day and Nite’s fleet and nearly a dozen other towing companies. It was a noisy celebration of Nisson’s lifetime of toil and entrepreneurship.

Thomas Joseph Nisson died Feb. 11. He was 68.

Nisson is survived by his dear friend and partner of 12 years, Hildegard LaRouche of Edmonds; his daughter and son-in-law, Dawnell and Greg Kreider, of Bow; grandchildren Cassaundra, Gavin, Carrissa and Briauna; sisters Harriett Newtson, Sonia Chappell and Linda Barrett, all of Redmond, Ore.; and his former wife Maureen Van Hoyt of Sedro-Woolley.

He also leaves the LaRouche family, Michael, Martin and Alan, and their children.

“You lived life with gusto,” said Newtson, his eldest sister, in a program honoring her brother at his service. “You worked too hard and played hard.”

Hildegard LaRouche was a widow when she met Nisson literally by accident more than 12 years ago.

“One of his drivers hit my car right in front of his shop in Seattle. He came out and took care of everything,” LaRouche said. “He left his keys in my car. When I returned his keys, he kept calling.”

“He loved his business,” said Nisson’s daughter, Dawnell Kreider. “I hope he found peace.”

Julie Muhlstein is a columnist for The Herald in Everett.