Gearhart Mayor Dianne Widdop plans to take her time finding candidates to fill a City Council vacancy left after Councilor John Duncan’s death Sept. 7.

“I want someone who will carry on the way John has,” she said.

Duncan, 67, died at his home in Gearhart early Labor Day morning. Only a few days prior, he had sat at a City Council meeting, attended a Gearhart Homeowners Association picnic and worked on his pet project of cleaning and restoring the Gearhart Ridge Path.

Widdop, as mayor, will appoint someone to serve the remainder of Duncan’s four-year term. Her appointment must be approved by consensus of the council.

Gearhart City Administrator Chad Sweet said there is no rush to fill Position 3, the at-large seat Duncan held for about nine months after being elected last November.

Duncan will not be easy to replace, he added.

As opposed to those who simply talk about working on projects or getting things done, “John did things,” Sweet said. “He took big projects and busted them up into little pieces and made them easy and fun.”

Widdop said she is giving the next appointee “a lot of thought” and will get opinions from councilors Kerry Smith, Dan Jesse and Sue Lorain. Once the council approves Widdop’s appointment, that individual will start immediately.

Duncan was a professional engineer and land surveyor who lived at least partially in Gearhart for about two decades.

“He was passionate about his engineering and his land surveying,” said his wife, Sandy. “He was passionate about his family. He was passionate about being fair. He was very fair. He followed the rules and would interpret them in the fairest way that he could determine.”

Duncan was an outdoor person who enjoyed rafting and fishing. He was a good storyteller and an avid golfer, Sandy Duncan said.

“He was just a good friend to everybody,” she said.

Duncan served in the Army during the Vietnam War. He and Sandy met in 1978 and married in 1979. They have a daughter, Nicola Duncan, and a grandchild, Marcus Duncan-McKinney, who live in the Portland area.

John and Sandy Duncan owned a home in Gearhart for 20 years and moved permanently to the area five years ago.

In 2013, Widdop appointed John Duncan to the Gearhart Planning Commission. With the 2014 General Election approaching, Widdop said she asked Duncan to run. “I convinced him that he was such an asset to us,” she said.

In November, Duncan took over Position 3 after claiming about 68 percent of votes.

“I think that I’ve been fortunate,” he said about being elected as city councilor. “It’s kind of a big responsibility that the voters put on me, but I thank them and I want to do a good job for the city.”

During recent council sessions Duncan provided input on a local street vacation request, short-term vacation rentals, firehouse renovations and the Ridge Path Trail.

He was an advocate for better emergency preparedness and citizen involvement.

In the nearly one year he served on the council, he did “an excellent job,” Widdop said. “He is one of those people who, if he says he is going to do something, he does it, and he gives it 100 percent.”

Sweet said Duncan was “a constant presence at City Hall.” He would stop by at least three or four times per week to get caught up on what was going on. Because he had decades of experience in surveying and engineering, Duncan was “a wealth of information,” Sweet said.

Duncan spearheaded a project to complete the Gearhart Ridge Path, a walking trail favored by residents and visitors.

“This is something he will always be remembered for doing,” Widdop said of the trail.

Sweet agreed.

“John just loved working on that trail and making that happen,” he said. “If anybody wanted to walk on it, wear it in, that would be a good way to remember John also.”

Caldwell’s Funeral and Cremation Arrangement Center in Seaside is in charge of the arrangements. A memorial service for Duncan has not been set.