YAKIMA, Wash. - He was there Tuesday night, accepting the city's proclamation for the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Week and supporting Sonia Rodriguez's swearing in as the new member of the Yakima City Council.

Moments after Rodriguez was sworn in, Henry Beauchamp stood up to congratulate her and the council on the appointment.

"He gave a little talk," Yakima City Manager Dick Zais said. "He looked well."

Late Tuesday, though, Beauchamp -- the first black mayor of Yakima and a longtime community advocate and activist -- suffered a stroke. Late Thursday, he remained in fair condition at the Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, according to a hospital spokesman.

"He has been a great friend and a great mentor to me personally, and I am very, very concerned about him," said Zais, who's known Beauchamp for 35 years. "He is in my thoughts and prayers."

Zais spoke with Beauchamp's wife, Wilma, on Thursday afternoon.

"She appreciates all of the concern, support and love and (asks) for everyone to keep him in their prayers," the city manager said.

Beauchamp, 75, co-founded Yakima's Opportunities Industrialization Center, a nonprofit that works to improve people's lives by providing them with opportunities for education, work, housing and other needs.

A Louisiana native, he moved to Yakima with his family when he was 13. He was elected to the Yakima City Council in 1977 and served for 24 years, including two as mayor. He was only the second black resident to serve on the Yakima City Council. He was also instrumental in raising funds for -- and starting -- the Southeast Yakima Community Center, which opened in 1971.

"He always supports everything that is going on here," said James Parks, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the facilities manager at the community center. "He's always on call. Henry's been the rock of this community."

Beauchamp was one of the first local leaders Parks met when he moved here 20 years ago: "There was not one social cause in Yakima during that time that he didn't help. He was everywhere. He has done so much for this community."

By Thursday, news of Beauchamp's condition was spreading through Yakima. An announcement was made during the Downtown Yakima Rotary Club meeting. Beauchamp has been a member on and off throughout the years.

"I am sorry to see that happen to Henry," said Bernie Sims, a longtime Rotarian and former councilman who served with Beauchamp. "He has been a pillar of this community. He has provided opportunities to countless individuals that have needed help."

King is one of his heroes. For many years, Beauchamp has led a local committee that organizes an annual peace march in Yakima to honor the slain civil rights leader.

Ester Huey, the director of the community center and a longtime Yakima Valley civil rights activist, said she was "shocked" by the news. She visited Beauchamp in the hospital's intensive care unit Wednesday and Thursday.

"When you think of Henry, you think of so much strength and so much ability, such drive. He's such an active, youthful person," she said.

"My hope is that he'll get up out of that bed and be as well as he can be after this attack that he's had," Huey said. "We don't know what the outcome will be. We're just waiting to see."

She said Beauchamp was awake, alert and in good spirits when she saw him: "I expect him to recover quite well."