Correction: Piggott Mayor Gerald Morris, who died Thursday at a Jonesboro hospital, was 80. This article gave an incorrect age.
Piggott Mayor Gerald Morris, who was finishing his 12th year as the Clay County town's mayor, died Thursday in a Jonesboro hospital.
Morris, 81, had battled a respiratory illness and was admitted to St. Bernards Medical Center last week. Funeral services will be held Saturday at the First General Baptist Church in Piggott.
The City Council appointed City Clerk Ramona McGee as interim mayor Thursday afternoon.
"We lost a boss, and we lost a great friend," Piggott Alderman James Poole said. "He was good for Piggott."
His death was unexpected, Poole said. Morris was admitted to the Jonesboro hospital earlier this week and seemed to have improved greatly.
"Then he took a sudden turn for the worse," Poole said.
Morris, a longtime Piggott businessman, was elected mayor in 2002 and made industrial recruitment for the town of 3,774 a key effort during his tenure.
He also helped lead a successful campaign to pass a 1 percent citywide sales tax in 2010 to help pay for the Piggott Community Hospital.
In 2007, he invited actress Patricia Neal to Piggott to honor the 50-year anniversary of the film A Face in the Crowd. A portion of the movie, which also starred Andy Griffith, was filmed in Piggott.
He won his last bid for mayor by nine votes in 2010 and recently said he would not seek re-election in November.
"He was a top-shelf kind of guy," said Tim Blair, a Piggott Times reporter who covered the Piggott City Council.
Morris traveled to Africa this year and returned from a trip to Cuba earlier this month, Poole said.
He was elected the Northeast Arkansas District vice president for the Arkansas Municipal League on June 20 and was on the board of the East Arkansas Planning and Development District.
Poole said Piggott City Council members will meet next week to decide whether to appoint someone to fill the remaining six months of Morris' term or hold a special election.
"He cared about everyone, and he loved Piggott," Poole said. "No one will ever be able to fill his shoes."
State Desk on 06/27/2014