American Fork City Councilman Jimmie Cates, 68, died Friday morning. He had been undergoing treatment for a rare lymphoma cancer, according to family members.

Mayor Heber Thompson sent an e-mail to council members to inform them of the news.

"He will be greatly missed in our City Council," said Thompson in the e-mail, "but his gentle wisdom and kindly manner will endure with us for a long time."

Cates was first appointed Feb. 11, 2003, to fill the unfinished term of a council member and subsequently ran for the seat in November 2003 but was not elected. On Feb. 22, 2005, he was appointed again and in November 2005 he ran and was elected. He had been attending council meetings until he became too ill several months ago.

The city is expected to seek applications for an individual to serve until a replacement can be elected in November to fill the remainder of Cates's term, which runs through 2009.

Councilman Dale Gunther paid tribute to Cates.

"Jimmie and I go way back," he said. "He is just a wonderful person, the type of a person you would like to be around. His service on the council was just tremendous.

"I am so saddened for the loss and for his family. They don't come any better than Jimmie."

Councilwoman Heidi Rodeback agreed and said the news caught her off-guard.

"I was not prepared for it," she said. "We were all pulling for him. He will be greatly missed because he tempered the council.

"He was always calm and rational and advised us to proceed with great caution. He was a great asset to the council."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.