NORTHFIELD CENTER TWP.: Former township trustee Brent Sommer has died after a boating accident in Florida over the Memorial Day weekend.
Township Trustee Paul Buescher reported the death in his online newsletter early Tuesday.
“Farewell Brent,” he wrote. “You will be missed but NEVER forgotten!”
Sommer resigned as trustee effective Jan. 1, 2016, and retired to Florida. He had been a lifelong resident of the township and also had served as a road worker and zoning commission member. He had served as a trustee for about 10 years.
CaptivaSanibel.com reported that Sommer, 61, was in a 21-foot Chris-Craft in the Caloosahatchee River on May 27 when the vessel turned hard to the starboard side and he and another passenger were tossed into the water.
The Sommer family posted on the Nordonia Hills News website that Sommer was found floating on his back unconscious after being tossed from the boat. He was revived but didn’t regain consciousness.
The family also wrote a message was posted Monday expressing their grief over his passing.
“Brent was a giant amongst men,” they wrote. “He was a man that always served others….his family, his friends, the community, and complete strangers. There was nothing that this man would not do for others. He was always doing the right thing. If ever you needed help with anything or to talk to somebody that really cared, all you had to do was hit the direct dial labeled ‘BRENT,’ and everything would be solved.”
The family said there will be a special ceremony in Ohio in the next few weeks.
Read the family’s full message here.