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Cordele City Manager Edward Beach died unexpectedly Tuesday at Crisp Regional Hospital.
“This is a huge shock for all of us,” said City of Cordele Human Resources director David Wade. “I’ve known Edward since we were kids. He seemed to be slowly getting back to good health.”
Beach had suffered the loss of a leg this summer but had started working again part-time.
“The City of Cordele has suffered a great loss,” Wade said. “He was a real professional. You couldn’t get anything past Edward. He always had an answer.”
The Cordele City Commission postponed its scheduled meeting Tuesday until Wednesday.
Beach earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgia Southwestern College in 1988 graduating magna cum laude.
A native Cordelian, he worked at Roobin’s Department Store, a Cordele landmark, as head accountant and office manager from 1986 until the store closed in 1992.
He opened his own business, Beach Gifts, Inc. d/b/a The Gift Shop in a historic home that he renovated on 18th Avenue.
Beach joined the city in November 2001, as a financial services administrator where he was responsible for all accounting records of utilities, property tax, and business licenses, budget preparation and monitoring, accounts payable and receivable, general ledgers for sixteen City funds, the capital improvements program, treasury management, and preparation of the City’s Annual Financial Report.
In 2010, he was named City Clerk and Assistant City Manager and in July, 2012, he was named interim city manager and a year later was named City Manager.
No funeral plans have been announced.