Former Columbus Mayor George Wade, 88, passed away Thursday in West Monroe, Louisiana.
Wade served one term as mayor, from 1997-2001.
Former city councilman Charlie Newell, who served four of his eight years with Wade, remembered him as a good man.
“He was very easy to work with,” Newell said. “He was slow to anger, and he had an open mind. He was just a good man, and I thought a lot of him.”
Newell pointed to the Columbus Municipal Complex as a lasting legacy of the Wade administration.
“We purchased the old grocery store building there on Main Street and turned it into the police station,” Newell said.
The former Kroger location on Main Street now houses both CPD and the municipal court. It is also where Columbus City Council holds its meetings.
Former mayor Jeffrey Rupp, who succeeded Wade, remembered him as someone who cared deeply for the community.
“We were rivals, but I always found him to be a decent human being,” Rupp said. “He loved people, and wanted to serve the community. That’s who he was.”
He also remembered Wade as quite the raconteur.
“He could tell a story,” Rupp said. “If he started a tale, you had better just settle in.”
Mayor Keith Gaskin honored Wade in a Facebook post Friday morning.
“Mayor Wade had a great heart of service to help others throughout his life, and he continued to do so as mayor,” Gaskin wrote. “… Columbus is a better city because of his leadership and love for others.”
Wade was born in Collins, Mississippi. He
joined the Navy and served during the Korean War on the USS Pickaway and the USS Noble.
He moved to Columbus in 1967 and became manager of the Lowndes County Farmers Cooperative. He left the co-op after about 20 years and opened his own farm supply business.
Wade was a member of Fairview Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon and sang in the choir.
After his term as mayor he and his wife, Eunice, relocated to West Monroe to be near his son and grandchildren.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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