Nancy Diamond, an Oshawa city councillor who served as mayor of the city for more than a decade, died suddenly over the weekend.

Oshawa Mayor John Henry said Diamond was at city hall on Friday afternoon when she complained about a headache.

“We had just finished our budget process for the city and last Wednesday we had our regional council meeting where we finished that budget process. She had a headache and was going to go home,” Henry told CTV News Toronto on Monday. “On the way home, she pulled over to the side of the road and called here and Coun. Carter, one of her colleagues, went and picked her up and took her to the hospital.”

Despite being treated, Henry said “things went very bad very quickly.”

“Ultimately, last night, just before midnight, she passed away,” he said. “It was very unexpected.”

Henry said the loss has left a big hole in the community.

“The greatest gift you can give to your community is the gift of service. Long before Nancy was a politician, she worked in this community to do great things and she did great things while she was on council. Now it’s our opportunity to go forward and remember her for what she’s done and continue what she’s done,” he said.

 

“Oshawa is a better place because of councillor and former mayor Nancy Diamond and the work that she did in this community. She will be remembered on the walls of this city until the end of time.”

Diamond, who would have turned 76 this year, was first elected to Oshawa council in 1988 where she served until 1991 when she succeeded in a run for mayor.

She held the position until 2003 and later made a return to politics in 2010 where she was re-elected as a regional and city councillor.

Diamond had a long history of community work and was known to regularly hand-deliver meals with Coun. Bob Chapman for the Community Care Durham’s Meals on Wheels Program.

She earned the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for her community involvement and was named a honourary director of Friends of Second Marsh, the Durham Region Children’s Aid Society and honourary president of the IODE Golden Jubilee.

Diamond was also an active member at the Oshawa Optimist Club and the Oshawa Senior Citizens Centre, where she sat as a board member.

Many took to Twitter on Monday morning to offer their condolences.

A book of condolences will be available at Oshawa City Hall, located at 50 Centre Street, and at the Oshawa Senior Citizens Centre, at 43 John Street West.