Friends, family gather to remember Raleigh Councilman Thomas Crowder

Crowder, 58, died Tuesday after a long battle with testicular cancer.

Crowder joined the City Council in 2003 and served more than a decade representing District D in southwest Raleigh.

He previously worked with the city Planning Commission for years helping to shape Raleigh through its turn-of-the-century growth.

“Thomas was a key piece of what has made Raleigh the best place to live in the country," Mayor Nancy McFarlane said in a statement after hid death. "His devotion to good design was part of the driving force that has brought us to the top, and reminds us that we should never settle for less than the best."

Crowder is credited with a number of city-led efforts, including the redevelopment of downtown Raleigh; improvements to Hillsborough Street, Western Boulevard and Tryon Road; the city's probationary residential occupancy program and the city's enhanced relationship with North Carolina State University.

In announcing that his treatments were failing, Crowder asked that his wife, Kay, be appointed to fill out the remainder of his term, which ends in December 2015.

Crowder is survived by his wife, Kay; daughter, Rachel; son, Garrett; and mother, Mary.