Longtime Manchester, Tennessee, mayor Lonnie J. Norman has died after being hospitalized earlier this month with COVID-19, city officials confirmed early Monday. He was 79.
“With a deep sense of sadness and loss, we announce the passing of Mayor Lonnie Norman after being hospitalized for COVID-19 on October 1, 2020,” city officials posted on the city’s social media page early Monday. “Mayor Norman passed away in the early hours of Monday, October 12, 2020, after a valiant fight against COVID-19.”
According to Coffee County Election Commission officials, Norman served as mayor from 1991 to 1995, was elected to the post again in 2012 and was just elected to his third consecutive term as mayor in August.
Manchester Alderman Ryan French knew Norman his entire life and said he’d always been special. He noted Norman marked a moment in history when he became the city’s first Black mayor when he was elected to a single term almost three decades ago.
“It’s a hard day for sure,” French said Monday of the coronavirus claiming his lifelong friend.