Family remembers Ford as a ‘dedicated man of the people’

Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, whose meteoric rise and shocking fall captured headlines worldwide, died Tuesday. He was 46 years old. Ford succumbed after 18 months of treatment for a rare form of cancer. His family announced his death Tuesday morning in a statement. “With heavy hearts and profound sadness, the Ford family announces the passing of their beloved son, brother, husband and father, Councillor Rob Ford,” the statement said.

“A dedicated man of the people, Councillor Ford spent his life serving the citizens of Toronto. The family asks that you respect their privacy and join them in their grieving and their prayers.” Ford served a single, scandalplagued term as mayor, between 2010 and 2014. Elected on a promise to cut waste at city hall and build subways out to Toronto’s suburbs, he saw his term derailed by charges of drug abuse, drunkenness and at times astonishing behaviour.

Outside city hall Tuesday, next to the huge TORONTO sign that looks out on Nathan Phillips Square, a handful of mourners wrote memories of Ford in sidewalk chalk. Gary Singh, an articling student, said Ford was a great person. “He was the people’s mayor,” he said. “He had his vices, but who doesn’t, right?”