Jerry Wade, former Columbia City Councilman, dies at 73

Jerry Wade, former Columbia City Councilman and 2010 mayoral candidate, died Saturday from lung cancer, according to a release from the Columbia Audubon Society, a group he served as president for.

Wade was 73.

Wade served as a member of Columbia’s Planning and Zoning Commission for several years, nine of them as its chairman. In 2007, voters in Columbia’s Fourth Ward elected him city councilman. Wade ran against Bob McDavid in the 2010 Columbia mayoral election, a race McDavid won.

“Jerry lived his philosophy of community service,” the release from the Audubon Society of Missouri said, a group Wade served as president for. “In office and out, he worked with fellow Columbians to empower citizens, strengthen the local economy and plan for growth.”

Wade attended the University of South Dakota for undergraduate studies, where he received a B.A. in Sociology. He received his M.A. in Community Development and his Ph.D. in Rural Sociology at the University of Missouri.

He is survived in Columbia by his wife Mary Kay Edgington, or Edge, his daughter Kimberly and son-in-law David Bones, and two grandchildren.