Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said in a news release that Roy C. Nixon died Sunday after a short illness. He was 85.
Nixon was sworn in as the first Shelby County mayor under a new form of county government on Jan. 1, 1976. The county includes Memphis, which has its own government and mayor.
The release says Nixon served two years and did not run for election to a full, four-year term.
Nixon also served as county sheriff, from 1970 until 1975.
Harris says Nixon “set the standard for governance and service.”
Nixon’s survivors include his wife and three daughters.
Funeral services are set for Saturday at St. Patrick Presbyterian Church in Collierville.
