NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Former North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays will be laid to rest Thursday afternoon.

The memorial service will be held at First Pentecostal Church located at 1401 Calvary Road in North Little Rock at 3 p.m.

Hays passed away Wednesday, Oct. 4 at the age of 76. City officials later confirmed that he has been fighting cancer.

The longtime mayor was born in North Little Rock in 1947. He graduated from North Little Rock High School and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Hays served as an assistant city attorney and a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives before becoming mayor in 1998. He served in that position until 2013. Hays continued to practice law after his terms in public office.

Hays is survived by his wife Linda, their daughter and grandchildren.

Several spoke at the service, including Hays’ wife, daughter and grandchildren, North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick and former President Bill Clinton.