Wanda Leonard, town commissioner and former mayor of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, died early Tuesday morning.

Mayor Linda Pennoyer said in an emailed statement that Leonard passed away at Southern Maryland Hospital in Clinton. She was 58 years old.

“We are all devastated and shocked by her sudden passing,” the statement read in part. “Wanda was not only a fellow Commissioner; she was a personal friend. Besides being a good friend, Wanda also made many tremendous contributions to the Town of Upper Marlboro.”

The city spokesperson said Leonard’s cause of death was “not confirmed” but that it was not related to COVID-19. Pennoyer said they would share funeral plans as they become available.

She added, “We will miss her smile and energy more than words could ever say. This is a tremendous loss to the Town of Upper Marlboro.”

Leonard was elected President of the Board of Commissioners, or mayor, and sworn into office in July of 2019, after former mayor Tonga Turner abruptly resigned.

Turner, who is the town’s first Black mayor, said she had been the victim of racist attacks, though she said they were not the reason she was stepping down.

Leonard was the second Black mayor in Upper Marlboro and previously served as a commissioner, according to a town press release from 2019.

In a statement Tuesday, Pennoyer cited Leonard’s work with the Greater Upper Marlboro Community Emergency Response Team and the town’s first Municipal Government Academy, among Leonard’s proudest professional accomplishments.

Leonard was a United States Army Reserve veteran and a graduate of the University of the District of Columbia. As a Court Appointed Special Advocate, she worked with children in D.C. who had been abused or neglected. Her personal mantra was “service before self,” she said in the 2019 release.

This story will be updated.