Jim Neilson, a trustee and former clerk in Hamburg Township, has passed away after battling Lou Gehrig's Disease. 

Neilson came out of retirement to serve the township in 2009, said Hamburg Township supervisor Patrick Hohl, who described Neilson as kind and dedicated.

"Jim was a gentleman who truly was kind to a fault," Hohl said.

Neilson died Monday after battling the disease for close to a year. He was 75. The township announced the news Monday on its Facebook page. 

Neilson announced in March that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, Hohl said. ALS is a progressive disease that attacks nerve cells that control the muscles. 

Despite Neilson's disease, he continued to serve on the township board, even into last month, Hohl said. 

Neilson was appointed as clerk near the end of 2009 after former clerk Matthew Skiba was recalled, said clerk Mike Dolan. 

He brought stability to a department that had been in turmoil for years, Hohl said, holding the clerk position until Jan. 20, 2016.

Later that year, he ran for, and won, a seat on the township's Board of Trustees, a seat he held up until his death.

"Up to the last minute, the man made himself available," Dolan said. "Jim was one of those guys who you'd say right off the bat, 'What a great guy'." 

Described by Dolan as upbeat and caring, Neilson was "very, very proud" of Hamburg Township, even spearheading an effort in the township to create signs welcoming people into the community, Dolan said.

Livingston County Clerk Elizabeth Hundley met Neilson when she was elected in 2016, she said. 

"Jim was the kindest and most welcoming clerk I got to deal with in my first year," Hundley said Monday. 

Bennett's Beavers founder Jim Bennett said Neilson helped the nonprofit organization obtain the building that housed the township's former fire station at 7252 Stone St. in Hamburg Township, where it is still located. 

"He was just an all-around happy person," Bennett said. 

Neilson's wife Colleen and their four children survive him.