UPDATE:

FLINT, MI -- Don Williamson, a bombastic and colorful former mayor of Flint and millionaire businessman, has died of complications from a respiratory ailment at age 85.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, who once worked as an attorney for Williamson, announced the death in a post on Facebook Tuesday, April 2.

“He was a brilliant businessman (who) could turn about anything into a profit,” Leyton said. “He was a great capitalist and a great promoter.”

As mayor from 2003 until 2009, Williamson carried over that showmanship from business to politics, refusing to accept a salary and using his personal wealth to perform neighborhood cleanups while campaigning for the job, sometimes overseeing work personally while wearing a signature hardhat.

He resigned as mayor in 2009, during his second term in office, citing health concerns just weeks before a scheduled recall election.

“Last month, I celebrated my third sinus infection in 13 months and my eighth kidney stone since Nov. 1," Williamson said at the time. “My doctors have told me that I should think about relaxing my schedule and reducing the demands on my time. In my political life, I received the greatest honor of all, the trust and respect that the voters of this great city placed in me when they elected me mayor in 2003 and then re-elected me in 2007.”

In business, Williamson was the owner and chairman of many businesses, including Rugged Bed Line, the Colonel’s International and Brainerd International Raceway. He served as a consultant to Patsy Lou Automotive Group in Flint Township.

Williamson grew up as one of eight children on Kearsley Drive in Flint, an upbringing that he said taught him how to work hard for what he wanted in life, according to Flint Journal files.

He served three years in prison in the early 1960s on two felony convictions involving business scams.

While the former mayor had a loyal following, he had critics, including leaders of the UAW, who often recalled a 1991 incident in which the management of a Williamson-owned auto parts plant in Shiawassee County dumped a load of manure near picketing employees.

He first ran for mayor in 1991, finishing last in the primary election. He ran again in 1995, losing in a landslide to incumbent Woodrow Stanley, before achieving the office.

As mayor, Williamson was unafraid of political battles, famously describing the Flint City Council as "about as valuable as puke on a brand new carpet.”

After leaving office, while living in Davison Township, Williamson attracted attention with a 8.5-foot bronze statue of himself, wearing a suit and tie, resting on a 400-pound granite base that read, “The Colonel’s Inc. Founded by Donald J. Williamson May 10, 1984. His motto ‘Success is the best revenge.’”

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver released a statement about Williamson’s death Tuesday.

“I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Mayor Don Williamson," she said in the statement. "He was a hardworking public servant who served to the best of his ability and gave so much of his time and heart to this community. In honor of Mayor Williamson, the flags at city hall will fly at half-staff. I pray that God will comfort all of those that knew and loved him.”

Funeral arrangements for Williamson are pending at Swartz Funeral Home. He is survived by his wife, Patsy Lou, and four children, Leyton said.