Howard Tygrett, 40, Clarkston mayor

When Howard Tygrett was elected mayor of Clarkston last year, he had two priorities for the DeKalb County city: reign in city spending and bridge the gap between residents and the city's growing refugee community.

Before he died unexpectedly on Christmas Day, Mr. Tygrett gave the city its first balanced budget in years and was making progress with a refugee community that speaks over 20 languages.

"Howard wanted Clarkston to be an example of a city that is extremely diverse and very successful," said his wife, Amy Tygrett.

Howard Tygrett died on Saturday during a visit with his wife's parents in Texas. He was 40. The cause of death has not been determined. The family will spread his cremated ashes on the beaches of South Padre Island in Texas, a favorite childhood place of his and where he spent his last day walking with his two children.

Darling-Mouser Funeral Home in Brownsville, Texas, are handling the arrangements. A memorial service will be scheduled shortly in Clarkston.

"It's a big loss," said Clarkston vice mayor Emanuel Ransom, who is assuming the post of acting mayor.

Ransom said Mr. Tygrett, an assistant manager at the REI store near the Mall of Georgia, used his business sense to balance the city budget. The budget is only $2 million, but the city repeatedly used hundreds of thousands of dollars in reserves, year after year.

Beyond that, Mr. Tygrett was moving forward on building a new city swimming pool, and cleaning up and adding a dock to the city lake, Ransom said.

Mr. Tygrett was always good at bringing people together, family members said.

"In any group, he would be among the best-liked kids," said his father, Howard Tygrett Jr. of Terrell, Texas. His son was Howard Tygrett III.

The family moved to Clarkston four years ago, but he quickly came to know residents and follow local issues. He won the mayor's race in the first runoff in the city's then-127 years.

Mr. Tygrett understood Clarkston was a haven for refugees, who came to the city because it offered affordable housing close to Atlanta jobs. He also saw that diverse population changing the city of 7,500 people. Aware that many of the refugees didn't drive,he advocated for more pedestrian safety measures such as signage and lighting in downtown.

He also worked with churches and resettlement agencies to provide for the needs of the refugees, helping them with education in particular. He sometimes tutored the children himself.

In one of his last phone calls to his father, Mr. Tygrett spoke with pride about working with a church and an apartment complex to bring tutoring to the 300 children who lived in the the complex.

He recently took his refugee mission to Washington in pursuit of federal aid to help the city. He wanted to add sidewalks and make the city more pedestrian-friendly.

"They refused him," Ransom said. "So he started working in other ways."

Mr. Tygrett enjoyed the outdoors, taking his family on tripsor  fcamping, climbing and biking. He encouraged his wife to repell down a small cliff. "That was a lot," she said. "I'm afraid of falling."