Alfonso "Al" Urias, a well-known figure who served as a Santa Paula city councilman for 20 years and was mayor five times, died Saturday. He was 83.

Friends and family remembered Urias, who succumbed to a longtime battle with brain cancer, as an activist who treasured the small community he grew up in.

"I think he looked at the community as a whole, not as segments," said Jesse Ornelas, who is Urias' son-in-law. "What I mean by that is that you were an equal in his eye. ... When you brought an issue to him it became his issue. He would look into it. He wouldn't brush you off."

Urias was born in Bard, Calif., and his family moved to Santa Paula soon after his birth, Ornelas said. He grew up in the town, and as an adult, served as a policeman with the Ventura Police Department. Urias rose to the rank of lieutenant.

From 1943 to 1946, he served as a radio operator for the Army Air Force, before the Air Force became an independent entity in 1947.

He worked for nine years at the Chancellor's Office for the California Community Colleges, administering vocational programs.

Urias briefly moved to Sacramento around the early 1970s, Ornelas said.

His family missed Santa Paula, however, and people in the community were asking him to run for the City Council, Ornelas said.

Urias came back, and Santa Paula voters elected him to the council for the first time in 1974. He served until 1986, lost an election and came back on the council after being re-elected in 1988. He finished his final term in 1996.

Urias served as mayor five times, City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said.

Al Escoto, who served on the council with him in the early 1980s, said Urias helped bring a second fire station and community center to the city.

"He was very passionate about the community," said Escoto, who knew Urias since childhood. "He just loved the city."

Carl Barringer, another former council member who served with Urias and knew him for about 40 years, said when they were growing up, Latinos faced tough times and prejudices in society.

"He dealt with it pretty well," Barringer said of Urias. "There were obstacles to overcome, and he managed to do it."

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors honored Urias in 1997 for his commitment and perseverance to the community.

Urias is survived by his wife, five children, nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

A viewing of Urias will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at El Buen Pastor United Methodist Church at 1029 E Santa Paula St. There will be a service there at 11 a.m. Friday. The public is invited.