UPDATE: Visitation for former longtime Charleston Mayor Robert Rowe will be Sunday, June 27, from 12-2 p.m., at the Charleston Church of God, with the service to follow at 2. Womble Funeral Home is in charge.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Charleston Church of God or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Former longtime Charleston Mayor Robert Rowe died Friday morning, June 25, according to a post on the Facebook page of Charleston Church of God, where he was a member and the minister of music.
He was 90.
"Please be in prayer for the family of Bro Robert Rowe. Bro Rowe passed away this morning. We will update when arrangements are finalized," stated the post, which was made at 9:14 a.m.
Rowe served 28 years and three months as mayor of Charleston before resigning Sept. 30, 2013, citing "recurring health issues" and "other personal reasons."
In May 2013, he had turned back three fellow Democrats to claim a first-ballot primary victory with 73% of the vote, winning election to an eighth term as the city's chief executive officer.
Rowe first cast a shadow on the city's political scene in 1973, when he ran for and won a seat on the then at-large Board of Commissioners.
In 1977, Rowe missed out on reelection by two votes, but he ran for and won a vacant position on that board several years later.
During the course of his 10 years and five months on the city board, Rowe would serve as its appointed industry commissioner and vice mayor.
In 1985, Rowe challenged incumbent Mayor Freeman Sanders for the city's top post. It was Sanders who had edged Rowe, 343-341, during the '77 commissioner's race. Rowe led a field of four Democrats in '85, winning in a runoff against Gyrone Kenniel to begin his historic tenure as mayor.
In 2002, during his fifth term, Rowe eclipsed the city's record for longevity in continuous mayoral service, a mark that had been set by R.E. Williams, who served as mayor of Charleston for 17 years from 1929 until 1946.
Rowe also was a longtime barber, owning and operating a barber shop in Charleston for more than a half-century.
Rowe championed a personal motto that he said served as his guide in government and in life: "Try to help as much as I can, for as many as I can, for as long as I can, and to God be all praise, thanks, glory and honor."
