The Village of Clyde is in a state of mourning following the Sept. 25 passing of Coun. Allan Van Eaton.
He was 57 years old.
“It’s a loss to our council and our village,” said mayor Nat Dvernichuk.
“My condolences to the family. It’s never good when something like this happens.”
The village’s chief administrative officer Kim Hale said the reality of the situation had not yet sunk in.
“I’ve never had to deal with this,” said Hale.
“I’ve been trying to bring in some grief counsellors in for anyone who might need it. He was young and it’s not like he was battling some disease that we knew about, so it’s tough to wrap your head around what the heck happened.”
She said council will discuss when to schedule a byelection to fill his seat following the Oct. 15 organizational meeting.
Under the Municipal Government Act, a byelection is required within 90 days of a council seat becoming vacant.
Van Eaton won his seat on council in the 2017 Municipal Election. He was the owner of the Clyde Bar and lived in the village for nearly eight years.
Over his life Van Eaton owned and operated a feedlot, golf course and auto wrecker as well as construction and consulting companies.
“I found him to be an enlightening individual,” said Hale.
“He had some awesome and different ideas and he was committed to try and make the Village of Clyde a better place and I’m definitely going to miss him.”
A celebration of his life will be held Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. at the Clyde Bar and all family and friends are welcome to attend. Those looking to make a memorial donation are directly to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
