Jon Lord, a former Calgary alderman and provincial MLA, has died.
Several media outlets confirm that Lord, 57, died following a severe heart attack while at home Tuesday night.
Lord and his wife, Sheryl Guillaume, were getting ready for bed after watching some television Tuesday night, when he suffered the heart attack.
“There was no warning,” Guillaume told Metro Calgary. “It was just done. That was it, it was over.”
Lord's friends and family are still coming to terms with what happened, as Lord did not have any recent health problems, longtime friend Craig Chandler told CBC News.
Lord served as alderman for Ward 8 for two terms beginning in 1995.
He was also elected MLA for the Calgary-Currie riding in 2001, serving on the backbenches until 2004, when he was defeated by Liberal Dave Taylor.
He also went up against Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi in the 2013 civic race.
Lord was an active member in his community and owned Marda Loop's Casablanca Video store.
“He wanted to make a better world, and that’s all he ever cared about," Guillaume told the Calgary Herald.
Nenshi issued a statement regarding Lord's passing Wednesday morning, calling his former competitor "a community-builder in the truest sense of the word."
"Jon was the kind of person you want to debate—he presents valuable ideas and forces you to test your own," read Nenshi's statement.
Lord's friends, family, colleagues and admirers took to Twitter Wednesday morning to share their fond memories and condolences.