CARY - Joseph R. Veasey, the former bank executive who served as Cary's mayor during early years of growth, died of a heart attack at his home on Sept. 4. He was 83.

Veasey served the town as growth started to dominate its politics. He joined the Town Council in 1963 and was elevated to mayor six years later, holding that seat until 1971.

During that time, the town's population almost doubled to at least 7,700 residents, creating infrastructure challenges -- including a water supply that mostly came from wells -- that threatened the town's ability to attract more residents and businesses. Today, the town has about 134,000 residents.

Veasey was remembered by friends as a methodical politician and a salt-of-the-earth church leader who, as mayor, did what he could with limited resources to prepare Cary for the explosive growth that continued years after his tenure.

"I don't know how he could have done any better with what he had to work with," said former mayor Koka Booth. During his time on the Town Council, a tenure that ended in 1975, Veasey was painted as quiet and thoughtful. His beard and measured speech evoked comparisons to Abraham Lincoln.

Veasey's first meeting as mayor ran longer than any other he took part in during his 13 years of service with the town. During that February 1969 meeting, he listened to seven proposals for changes in zoning regulations and approved an annexation that extended town limits 30 acres southwest of Cary toward Apex. He also presided over discussions of a new "dog committee," formed to keep Cary dogs on their owners' properties. Violators were to be fined a dollar a day. A salaried dog catcher position was to be created to get the job done.

Over the years, he guided plans for the town's second fire station and various road expansions. Veasey was appointed to the mayor's seat when E.B. Davis, who had been mayor since 1963, moved out of the district and resigned. A few months later, Veasey ran for and won a two-year term, which would be his only time as mayor.

His service was based in the simple notion of protecting and guiding the town. "It's kind of like being married and not wanting to see anything happen to your wife," he told a reporter at the time.

Veasey, a banker for 38 years, was a stickler for fiscal responsibility. His main concern throughout his term was having enough money to finance Cary's growth.

Veasey was born in Granville County in 1926. He graduated from Fuquay Springs High School in 1943. He served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946 and he graduated from High Point College in 1950. He moved to Cary in 1954 and became a founding member of Cary Presbyterian Church, where he attended as a church officer, deacon and trusted elder until his death.

"He was instrumental in church and in Cary," said Bob Lowry, 79, who went to church and traveled the East Coast with Veasey.

The 860-member congregation often looked to Veasey for counsel, said Kyle Allen, the church's pastor. He loved children, although he never had any of his own. "Whenever we had a baptism, I just have a memory of his face beaming," Allen said.

Veasey is survived by his wife of 61 years, Shirley Tunstall Veasey; brother Leroy S. Veasey and several nieces and nephews. A funeral service was held at Cary Presbyterian Church on Sept. 7. Veasey was buried at Montlawn Memorial Park in Raleigh.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cary Presbyterian Church Endowment Fund, 614 Griffis St. in Cary.

Staff writer Jordan Cooke contributed to this report.