A man who served for 22 years as an elected official in Madison County -- and spent the past decade assisting county officials across Arkansas -- died Wednesday night of an apparent heart attack.
Wesley Fowler, 60, was staying at the Wyndham Hotel in North Little Rock when he began having severe pain, according to an email from Christy Smith, the communications director for the Association of Arkansas Counties.
Fowler called for an ambulance and was taken to Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock, where he died, according to the email, which was sent to county officials all over Arkansas.
Fowler was in Little Rock for the legislative session and was working with county clerks Wednesday at the Capitol.
Fowler was Madison County clerk from 1989-98 and county judge of Madison County from 1999 to 2010.
He then went to work for the Association of Arkansas Counties, serving as government relations director from 2011-14 and since then as a contractor, said Chris Villines, executive director of the association.
"He's like a Swiss army knife in the courthouse," said Villines. "He's been a county clerk and a county judge. In Madison County, he was instrumental in putting computers in those offices early on. He used that to help tie a lot of those county offices together."
Madison County clerk Faron Ledbetter, who succeeded Fowler as clerk, said Fowler's death was a "tremendous shock."
"He was in such good health," said Ledbetter. "He was very active."
Ledbetter said Fowler played golf and fished together.
"He was one of the smartest, most well-rounded people I've ever known," said Ledbetter. "You cannot measure the impact he had on Madison County and the state of Arkansas. He was very well-known throughout Arkansas with all the county elected officials. With all his years of knowledge, he was a go-to person for county officials who had questions.
"He was a problem-solver. He had the ability to see where he thought things ought to be 5, 10, 15 years down the road, and he would make decisions to reach those goals. He could see into the future. He always had a plan. He had vision. The county and the state has benefited tremendously from his choice to go into public service."
Fowler was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, according to an article on the association's website, arcounties.org. His parents moved back home to Madison County when he was 4 years old. After high school, he married Rose Qualls. They had three daughters.
Fowler worked at Tyson Foods and National Home Center before becoming a custom home-builder and licensed residential contractor, according to the article. He also had poultry houses, and his family owns a nine-hole golf course.
Metro on 02/03/2017