Bruce Sauvageau, former Chairman of the Wareham Board of Selectmen, has died at the age of 56.

According to an obituary posted on the Chapman, Cole, & Gleason Funeral Home's web site, Sauvageau “passed away peacefully” at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on Saturday, Jan. 10. While no cause of death was listed, Sauvageau had been plagued by health problems in recent years.

"The community has lost a huge asset," said Jane Donahue, who served on both the Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen alongside Sauvageau. "It's a shame to see someone with so much talent die so young."

Sauvageau served as a Selectman from 2003 to 2010, and was chair of the board in 2006 and 2009. In addition to the Selectmen, Sauvageau served on the Finance Committee for three years, on the Affordable Housing Partnership for four years, and with the Wareham Middle School Building Committee. He also served eight years on the Zoning Rewrite Committee, which was in charge of rewriting and modernizing Wareham's zoning by-laws, in addition to participating in many other organizations.

"Bruce was an honest man full of integrity," said Brenda Eckstrom, who served on the Board of Selectmen alongside Sauvageau from 2005 to 2010. "He was a watchdog for the people."

"He was not the greatest politician but his heart was always in the right place," said resident Ed Pacewicz. "He only had one goal, to do what was best for the town."

Sauvageau worked in finance and as a financial planner for 25 years and was a private investigator for four years.

He lived in Swifts Beach with his wife Rose, and had immediate and extended family in Wareham. He and Rose owned and operated a summer restaurant called the Oceanside Restaurant.

"Anyone who knew him knew how much he loved his wife, I don't think people knew his depth of love for his wife, family and his mother," Eckstrom said.

"He would visit his mother every week in Connecticut," added Donahue. "He was very protective and caring about his family." She said that when running the restaurant, Savageau would give away free pizza to kids, many of whom referred to him as "Uncle Bruce."

Sauvageau was at the center of several of Wareham's hottest recent issues.

A leader in the Swifts Beach community, he was involved with the Swifts Beach Association’s efforts to gain a conservation restriction on a 5.3 acre beachfront property off of Swifts Beach Road and Wankinco Avenue. After 11 years of debate, it was permanently restricted for beach and recreational use at Fall Town Meeting in 2014.

He was an advocate for the construction of affordable senior housing on the Westfield property off of Charlotte Furnace Road in West Wareham, which, while initially attracting a number of bids, never came to fruition.

He was an outspoken supporter of controversial former Police Chief Richard Stanley, and an active member of the now-dormant political action group Move Wareham Forward.

Participating on a number of boards and commissions throughout the years, Sauvageau had his fair share of detractors and controversies.

"He put up with a lot, but it never diminished his love for this town," Eckstrom said.

"Anybody who does anything good is going to have critics," said Raymond Davies who worked with Bruce in the Swifts Beach Improvement Association. "I always found him to be someone who treated me well. I consider him a friend and I'll miss him."

Information for Sauvageau's services, which will be held Wednesday, are available on Chapman, Cole, and Gleason’s web site.