George Canon, the longtime supervisor of Newcomb, died at Glens Falls Hospital on Sunday morning. He was 77.

Canon served 13 terms as town supervisor, from 1990 to 2015. He was known as a fighter for his town and often clashed with environmental activists whom he regarded as anti-development.

As supervisor, he fought for the preservation and restoration of Camp Santanoni, which some people wanted to be torn down or abandoned.

Before getting into politics, Canon worked at the now-closed titanium mine in Tahawus. In 2007, he sat down with Dick Beamish, the founder of the Adirondack Explorer, for an engaging interview in which he describes growing up in Newcomb in grinding poverty.  Near the time of Canon’s retirement as Newcomb Supervisor, North Country Public Radio’s Brian Mann produced a retrospective of his career.

Photo of George Canon in 2007 by Mike Storey.