Pain is still fresh for friends and colleagues of Tony Clark, just over 24 hours since the 1st Judicial District attorney general's sudden passing in Nashville.
Metro Police said Sunday that Clark appeared to have died from natural causes in his hotel room while visiting Nashville for a concert and medical procedure.
"We were best buddies," Washington County Tennessee Sheriff Ed Graybeal told WCYB. "I am almost 70, and I've tried my whole life to be a real person, that was Tony Clark. Real person - no grudges, no hate, no nothin', just a real person."
Clark, a Johnson City native, was reelected to an eight-year term in 2014 representing the first judicial district, which includes Carter, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties.
Friends and colleagues in the judicial system say he was a kind man revered for his integrity and fairness.
"He was a good prosecutor. He was a good brother in the law, so to speak. He was a good friend to everyone in the court system. I don't think anyone met him who wasn't his friend," Judge James A. Nidiffer said.
Clark's body was transported back to Johnson City by police escort Monday afternoon. It's still unclear if there will be a public memorial service.
For those who knew Tony Clark, there will always be a void left in their lives.
"His heart was as big as Tony. His life was as big as Tony," Graybeal said.
