LIVE OAK, Fla. — Phil Oxendine, a former Suwannee County commissioner who was running for a commission seat again, passed away Sunday night.

He was 65.

Oxendine had been working in his yard Sunday afternoon and got overheated and later passed away from heat stroke.

Oxendine served as the District 4 commissioner from 2010-14, helping to get the Suwannee County Fire Rescue station built in Wellborn during his term in office.

Commissioner Clyde Fleming, who worked on the board with Oxendine, said it was quite a shock to hear of Oxendine’s passing Sunday night.

“We worked well together on the board,” Fleming said, adding that they had just talked earlier Sunday and had a good conversation.

“His last words to me were that he would come help me (do some work).

“Phil is going to be missed. He was a good person, a good individual.”

Wellborn resident Wendell Snowden agreed. Snowden was an ardent supporter of Oxendine’s campaign to be re-elected to the board.

But he wasn’t always that way.

“When Phil Oxendine ran for the District 4 Commission seat in 2010, I did not support or vote for him,” Snowden said. “I considered Phil just another politician making empty promises. He was promising a much-needed Suwannee County Rescue Station in District 4. Phil won that election and I was quickly proven wrong. We worked hard for the people and went on to build Suwannee County Fire/EMS Station 5. As Phil’s four years as a Commissioner ran on, he proved time and again that he was not a politician but was truly an elected representative of his constituents in District 4. Phil Oxendine accomplished a lot in those four years and always kept his constituents foremost in his thoughts and actions.

“Phil’s integrity, loyalty, and steadfast commitment to public service will be greatly missed. That pair of shoes will be hard to fill.”

Prior to moving to Suwannee County upon his retirement in 2005, Oxendine served for 26 years with the Boynton Beach Fire/Rescue, rising to the rank of Lieutenant.

“Phil was a firefighter’s firefighter and a wonderful family man! He loved his children and grandchildren beyond belief! And, he will be greatly missed by all who knew him,” the Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Department posted on Facebook on Monday morning.

He then worked for the State of Florida Bureau of Fire Standards and later worked as a Program Manager for Fire Management at Chipola College in Marianna.

He also recently helped Suwannee County Fire Rescue as a fire inspector.

“As a county commissioner, he was definitely community based,” Suwannee County Public Safety Director James Sommers said. “He was a great asset to the fire department in helping us get that fire station there in Wellborn.

“He definitely will be missed as far as the fire rescue community all across the state. He touched a lot of people.”

Oxendine was married for 40 years to the love of his life Michele. They had two children, Amanda and Matthew, and five grandchildren, Colton and Cameron Vickers, and Tatum, Lili and Tucker Oxendine.

“He’ll be missed,” said Ricky Gamble, the current county chairman who also served on the commission with Oxendine previously. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”