ATLANTA — A Georgia Court of Appeals judge died unexpectedly on Saturday, the Court said, after a "short hospital stay."
The Court did not specify the exact cause of death for Judge Clyde Reese. A statement from the Court said its judges are "deeply saddened" by Reese's death, and described it as unexpected.
He was described by Chief Judge Brian Rickman as "kind, gracious, hard-working and a gentleman in every sense of the word."
"He will be deeply missed," Judge Rickman added.
Reese was a father of five and grandfather of three, according to his official bio, and a Douglas County resident. According to the bio, he would have been about 63 years old.
Reese had been with the Court of Appeals since 2016, when he was appointed by then-Gov. Nathan Deal. He won election to the Court for a full six-year term in 2018.
He also previously served the state as the commissioner for the Georgia Department of Community Health and as the commissioner for the Georgia Department of Human Services.
"Judge Reese was one of the kindest and most compassionate people I have ever known," Vice Chief Judge Amander Mercier said in a statement. "He was wise beyond measure, and someone I sought advice from many, many times over the years."
Reese's bio says he was born in Florence, South Carolina and moved to Atlanta in 1969, when he was 10. He attended Pace Academy and graduated in 1976.
The judge was a graduate of Georgia State University and earned his law degree from Mercer University.