STRATHROY, Ont. — Hundreds of people paid respects Monday to Mel Veale, the long-time mayor whose death stunned this Ontario community during the holiday weekend.

Veale, who was running this fall for re-election as Strathroy-Caradoc mayor, died Friday night of a suspected heart attack after returning home from a favourite haunt, the Delaware Speedway.

His sudden death left his London area community reeling.

“Mel was in the best health he’d been in in quite some time,” said Bill Rayburn, the county’s chief administrator and a close friend of the mayor for 13 years.

“It was a shock. The hard part is this is his best health period since I’ve known him.”

The timing of his death, though, won’t result in much political turmoil for the community he’d led for so long.

According to Strathroy-­Caradoc officials, it’s close enough to the Oct. 25 civic election that the mayor’s chair can remain vacant. In the meantime, Deputy Mayor Joanne Vanderheyden, will be acting mayor.

She already had announced a run for mayor, a campaign that would have posed the biggest challenge to Veale this fall.

Veale had heart surgery about a decade ago, followed by hip surgery and some complications more recently from diabetes, Rayburn said. Part of one foot had also been amputated last year.

It’s believed the coroner suspects a heart attack is the cause of death.

Veale became the first mayor of Strathroy-Caradoc when the communities were amalgamated in 1998. He had nearly completed his third term in the mayor’s chair and was running for a fourth.

The election intensity of “Mayor Mel” was well-known, Rayburn said.

“He played hockey for a long time and he fights his election campaigns like someone who throws the puck into the corner and dares you to go in and chase it,” he said.

“This was what he looked forward to. He was a strategic and hard campaigner.”

Veale’s political contributions were recalled in a statement released by Strathroy-Caradoc officials during the weekend.

“Mayor Mel’s dedication to this municipality and its citizens will be missed,” it read, noting he had been reeve of the Township of Caradoc for three straight terms before becoming mayor when Strathroy and Caradoc were amalgamated.

“Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.”

After the health woes that led to the amputation, Veale returned to his mayoral duties, jesting about being leaner and better than ever.

Veale considered one of his biggest achievements to be shepherding Strathroy and Caradoc’s mostly successful transition into a single municipality. He also was proud of the current Mt. Brydges sewer project.

A farmer and trucker by occupation, politics was his passion. He had started ramping up his latest campaign and signs urging voters to “Re-elect Mel Veale” have been popping up.

Town-logo flags and Canadian flags at municipal buildings — including Strathroy town hall and Mt. Brydges fire hall — were at half-mast during the weekend.

Several flags at Twin Elm estates, the modular home community where Veale lived in Strathroy, also were lowered in respect.

Veale had been at Delaware Speedway Friday night — he was an avid race fan who rarely missed a summer race — just hours before his death.

Public visitations were held Monday and there also is a public session slated for Tuesday, scheduled for 2-4 p.m. at Caradoc Community Centre in Mt. Brydges.

There will be a private visitation for municipal staff, with an honour guard led by the Strathroy-­Caradoc fire department and police force.

A private funeral for his family is slated for Wednesday. Veale is survived by three grown children.

His oldest, daughter Leanne Brown, said Monday’s visitation was a fitting tribute to her father’s influence.

“It’s wonderful, it’s great,” she said. “He loved being mayor. Anybody who wants to say goodbye can do it.”

With files from Free Press reporter Debora Van Brenk