Lillian Webb, the first female commission chair in Gwinnett County and longtime mayor of Norcross, has died. Family members say the 87-year-old passed away Thursday morning after a brief illness.
She was considered the bedrock of the Republican Party in Gwinnett County and a pioneer for conservatism.
After entering politics in the city of Norcross in 1969 and becoming its first female mayor five years later, Webb was elected as chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission in 1984 where she served two terms.
During that time, she is credited with the creation of Ronald Reagan Parkway, Jimmy Carter Boulevard, the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, the Gwinnett Civic Center, and the county’s parks and library program.
“I believe Lillian Webb will be remembered for that phenomenal growth that she brought to Gwinnett County but also her Republican values that are still concentrated in Gwinnett County,” says State Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford), who served with Webb on the county commission from 1990 to 1992.
She tells WSB’s Sandra Parrish Webb was a role model for herself and other female politicians.
“She was a grassroots leader. She was one of the first women that came up in politics in the GOP and that’s one of the reasons that I looked up to her and many other women looked up to her,” says Unterman.
She says Webb was foremost a businesswoman who had the vision to put infrastructure in place to grow Gwinnett County.
After losing her run for a third term to former commission chair Wayne Hill, Webb went back to local politics serving as mayor a total of 11 terms. She was honored three years ago by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce as its Citizen of the Year.
In a statement, current Gwinnett Commission Chair Charlotte Nash says, "Lillian Webb was a visionary leader who helped lay the foundation for many of the important attributes and assets of Gwinnett---great libraries, nationally recognized Parks system, construction of the Justice and Administration Center, the Civic Center, major transportation projects like Ronald Reagan Parkway, water and sewer improvements and creation of programs like GUIDE and the Coalition for Health and Human Services. We all are affected today by Ms. Webb's contributions to Gwinnett."
Funeral services will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Norcross United Methodist Church. Family will receive friends Friday from 5 until 8 p.m. at Crowell Brothers Funeral Home and Crematory in Norcross.
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