BOYKINS—Boykins Councilman Michael Thomas Gadsby passed away Sunday after suffering a heart attack at Southampton Memorial Hospital. He was 49.

“He was a good father and a good husband,” his wife of 23 years, Rosemary Wingfield Gadsby, said Tuesday. “He’ll be missed forever. I couldn’t have asked for better. I couldn’t have done better.”

Local officials said they were saddened by the news and spoke highly of Gadsby’s public service.

“He was very dedicated to his family and to this town,” said Town Clerk Pat Draper. “He was one of the council members that always thought about what would be best for the town.”

“He was a good council member,” Mayor Spier Edwards added. “He took an interest in our parks and our police. He was always at the meetings, and you could always count on him. He did a good job.”

Rosemary Gadsby said although her husband was a private person, “he just did what he thought was right to the best of his ability. He’s always been that way.”

Gadsby was appointed to Town Council in 2005 to fill the unexpired term of Jimmy Jones. Gadsby was elected in 2006, receiving the second-highest number of votes with 135. He ran for re-election on May 4, but lost.

Gadsby was born July 26, 1960 in Brunswick, Ga., and was preceded in death by a sister, Teresa Gadsby.

Michael Gadsby was an electrician with the Tristar Electric Co. in Chesapeake.

He was a supporter of Newsoms girls’ softball.

Gadsby is survived by daughters, Margaret Rose Gadsby and Aislinn Rose Gadsby; son, Ian Michael Gadsby; parents, Margaret Holt Gadsby and Donald Francis Gadsby of Norfolk; sister, Debbie Mullura (Tom) of The Villages, Fla.; brothers, Christopher Thomas Gadsby (Nancy) of Woodlands, Texas, and Brian Thomas Gadsby (Laura) of Virginia Beach; and mother-in-law, Anne Wingfield of Boykins.

A memorial service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 12, at Boykins Baptist Church with the Rev. Raymond Bunn officiating. A reception will follow in the church social hall.

Memorials may be made to Newsoms Athletic Association, c/o Brian Rountree, 29140 Cypress Bridge Road, Newsoms, VA, 23874, for girls’ softball.

Wright Funeral Home is handling arrangements.