Leonard Tow, 97, formerly of Pound Ridge, entrepreneur and philanthropist

Leonard Tow

Leonard Tow, 97, died on Aug. 10. 

Born May 30, 1928, in Brooklyn, he was the son of the late Estelle and Louis Tow. Tow lived in New Canaan, Conn., since 1987, and before that lived 15 years in Pound Ridge.

Tow met Claire Schneider at Brooklyn College in 1948. They married in 1952 and shared more than six decades of marriage, parenthood, business building, and philanthropy until her death in 2014.

In his own words, Tow’s life began in “abject poverty” in Brooklyn. Tow saw education as the way to a different life. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in economic geography. He taught at Hunter College, Columbia Business School, and other institutions.  

He left academia and joined a partnership that bought a few theaters on Broadway and later took a job with the consulting firm, Touche Ross & Company (later Deloitte & Touche). 

Eventually, he struck out on his own. He and his wife wrote a business plan at their dining room table that would become Century Communications. Founded in 1973 with a line of credit, Century grew into the fifth-largest cable television company in the country by the time it was sold in 1999. 

Tow also founded and directed Centennial Cellular and served as chairman and CEO of Citizens Communications (now Frontier Communications) from 1989 to 2004. He later became CEO of New Century Holdings, an outdoor advertising company.

In 1999, Tow sold the businesses he had created so he could devote more time to his wife, who was ill, and philanthropy.

The Tow Foundation was formed in 1988. It has granted hundreds of millions of dollars to institutions and organizations in New York, Connecticut, and across the U.S. In 2019, Town was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in recognition of his lifetime of generosity, vision and service.

He is survived by his three children, Frank Tow (Ronnie), Andrew Tow (Kathleen) and Emily Tow; as well as eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

The family will receive visitors at 160 Lantern Ridge Road, New Canaan, Aug. 15 and 16., from 1 to 6 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in his honor to nonprofit organizations of your choice. Plans for a celebration of Tow’s life will be shared at a future date.