Family, fellow councillors, and community members throughout Lakeshore and Essex County are grieving the loss of Ward 2 councillor Paddy Byrne who passed away on Thursday at the age of 71.
Byrne was a retired Addictions Counsellor who served on council for 12 years, including on the board which supported amalgamation transition in 1997.
During his time as a councillor, he served on the Parks and Recreation Committee, Civic Beautification Committee, Dog Pound Committee, Community Services Advisory Committee, and the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Committee.
He also volunteered his time as a soccer referee and for the Knights of Columbus.
Lakeshore Mayor Tracey Bailey took to social media following the news on Thursday, saying they're profoundly sad with the passing of their colleague councillor Paddy Byrne.
"It was an honour to serve the residents of Lakeshore alongside Councillor Byrne, and he will be missed around the council table," the statement read.
Lakeshore flags will be flown at half-mast.
Chris Byrne, Paddy's son, is the Afternoon Drive Host on Windsor's Pure Country 89.
He says his father suffered a heart attack Sunday night, and had been put on life support before passing away peacefully Thursday afternoon.
Chris says his father has left a massive footprint on the community during his time.
"There are so many people that have reached out over the last few days that I didn't even know what stretches of the county that they were coming from. The outpouring of support over the last few days has been overwhelming, and just to see how big of an impact he's had on so many lives," he said.
Chris says he knew the kind of man his father was, and the impact he had on the community, but that it's amplified by 100 times when news like hits.
"Essex County is a small place, I always say there's two degrees of separation, so when things happened on Sunday night almost everyone knew that something serious had happened because he hadn't reached back to people. It's amazing to find out how big and how much more amplified that reach and those connections are."
Chris says he's going to miss his father dearly, and had been dealing with waves of grief over the last few days.
"I lost my hero. I hope that I expressed to him as much love as he expressed to us and our family, and the community and everything. But I lost my hero, heaven got a good a good and the world is just a little bit less shiny," he said.
Chris says the family hasn't decided on any plans yet, but are thinking about having a funeral mass and a celebration of life for Paddy sometime before the end of August in Belle River.