Former Bowdon Mayor David Trammell Barrow, the man who coined Bowdon’s slogan “The Friendly City,” has died. He was 81.

Barrow, who had a long history of heart issues, died Thursday at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.

“I will remember him most as a perfect, loving father,” his daughter, Ginger Harman, said.

Harman said her father will be cremated and details on the memorial service, which is being handled by Rainwater Funeral Home in Bowdon, are pending.

Barrow, known as “Buddy” by many local residents, was born in the city on March 1, 1929, and grew up next door to his grandparents John William and Ellen Lovern Barrow. He graduated from Bowdon High School and attended West Georgia College before leaving Bowdon in 1946 to attend Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

After he returned to his grandfather’s home in 1959 with his wife, Jo, he became a plant manager for Houghton International in Carrollton where he stayed until 1971.

In the early 1970s, Barrow underwent one of the first coronary bypass surgeries in Georgia history, which improved his health so much that he was able to become more involved in the community.

In 1974, Barrow was elected to his first of two consecutive terms as mayor. During his first term, he accomplished a few major goals, including the funding and completion of Bowdon’s water source, Lake Tisinger, and a major expansion and upgrade of the Bowdon Water Pollution and Control Plant and Bowdon Water Plant.

In 1982, Barrow went to work as executive director for the Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Development Center, from which he retired in 1995.

“He is the best supervisor we have ever had,” said Chatt-Flint Office Manager Kathy Barton, who was his secretary at the time. “He was a people person. Everyone who knew Dave loved him.”

Soon after retirement, he turned his attention to the Bowdon community, beating out current Mayor Jim Watts for the mayoral position in 1996. In all, Barrow served 11 years as Bowdon’s mayor and eight on the City Council.

Watts said he first met Barrow when he was thinking about running for the City Council back in the ’70s.

“He defeated me by four votes,” he said of Barrow’s successful 1996 mayoral campaign. “But we’ve never had any animosity toward each other. I always respected Dave and I believe he respected me. He was a community leader and well respected in the community.”

Watts has requested that the city and national flags be flown at half-staff for the next three days.

“He’s going to be sorely missed in the community,” he said.

Not only did Barrow have a lot of political background and savvy, he was also a hero, according to Watts.

“One time, we had a city swimming pool,” he said. “David had just had open heart surgery and some kid fell in the pool, which wasn’t open at the time. David happened to be walking by and climbed the fence, jumped in the water and saved the kid’s life.”

City Manager Jimmy Meigs, also a Bowdon native, had known Barrow for most of his life.

“He did a great service for Bowdon and the state Georgia,” Meigs said. “He’ll be greatly missed.”

Barrow was named “Framer of the Constitution of the State of Georgia” by former Gov. George Busbee for the work he did as a member of the Georgia Constitutional Revision Committee from 1981 to 1982. Another former governor, Joe Frank Harris, recognized Barrow for the work he did through Chatt-Flint. In 1999, Barrow was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Municipal Association, of which he served as president of from 1979-1980.

In 2002, Barrow went to the Florida Keys to visit his sons, David and Ken Barrow. But he ended up staying five years after meeting his future wife, Joan. The two were married in 2003 and moved back to Bowdon with plans to stay when they learned his grandparents’ home was on the market.

Barrow was active in a number of community groups and activities, including the Bowdon Historical Society and the First United Methodist Church. Watts officially declared March 1, 2008, “David T. Barrow Day.”

Barrow is survived by his wife, Joan, five children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.