Photo by Carrie Grant, courtesy the Ferndale Enterprise.

The Ferndale Enterprise is reporting that award-winning local artist Jack Mays died today at St. Joseph Hospital, surrounded by family and friends.

Mays was known for his vibrant and meticulous illustrations, including painstaking panoramas of his hometown of Ferndale. Later in life his irreverent, fearless political cartoons graced the pages of the Enterprise. He won four National Newspaper Awards for his cartoon work. Below is a trailer for a 2010 documentary about Mays called One More Line.

For a look at some of his art, along with a thoughtful portrayal of the man himself, check out Heidi Walters’ February cover story in the NCJ. More of his art is available online here.

When Mays was first diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in 2004, doctors gave him three months to live; instead he battled on for almost a decade.