County legislator, IDA chair dies at age 81

Mr. Fawcett served two years as the county legislator for Lyonsdale and Greig and ran unopposed this fall for a new two-year term. He was also chairman of the Lewis County Industrial Development Agency board.

He had missed several meetings in the previous month or so because of an ongoing illness and died Monday at the home of his son in Connecticut, according to county officials.

Republican committee members from the two towns will ultimately select a candidate for legislators to appoint to the District 9 seat for 2018, with a special election to be held in the fall.

Legislators also will have to appoint a replacement to the IDA board.

However, the big-city import will be incredibly difficult to replace, according to those who knew and worked with him.

“I will deeply miss him,” said Craig R. Brennan, Deer River, who just stepped down as a county legislator and is vice chairman of the IDA board. “He was inspirational. He was a consummate diplomat.”

Mr. Brennan said his former colleague was also very intelligent, capable of adapting to almost any situation and relating to almost everyone and committed to making his community better, first for the Lyons Falls area and later for the entire county. “His vision was strong and his determination equally strong,” he said.

A retired publishing company executive who had worked in New York City and Los Angeles, Mr. Fawcett moved with his wife, Mary, to a home along the lower Moose River in the town of Lyonsdale in the mid-2000s, primarily to get away from the big-city lifestyle.

He soon became involved on various local boards and committees, including Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County, Lewis County Chamber of Commerce, Lewis County Development Corp. and Lyons Falls ALIVE. He later served as Lyonsdale town supervisor in 2008 and 2009 and Lewis County Republican Party chairman from 2011 to 2013.

Former Lyons Falls Mayor Catherine L. Liendecker recalled meeting in 2007 with other like-minded community members to form a grass-roots committee — Lyons Falls ALIVE — to develop events and promote the community.

“I was elected president and Rocky was elected vice president,” she said.

After Mrs. Liendecker was elected mayor in 2010, Mr. Fawcett took the helm of the local group and remained involved even as he took on other responsibilities.

“It’s certainly going to be a big void in our groups that he’s been involved in,” she said.

Mr. Fawcett, who began his legislative stint in January 2016 at the age of 79, last April said he initially had not planned to run for a second term, but his two sons in separate conversations suggested he reconsider to remain involved and active.

“He set the standard for the term public servant,” said former Legislature Chairman Michael A. Tabolt, who did not choose to run for re-election in the fall. “His words and actions clearly demonstrated his love and passion to make his community a better place for all.”