Judges across the state mourned the sudden death Wednesday of Superior Court Judge Horace Johnson Jr. of the state’s Alcovy Judicial Circuit, hailing him as a community leader and a friend whose loss is incalculable.

Alcovy Circuit Chief Judge John Ott said Johnson died early Wednesday morning of what he was told was a heart attack. Johnson died less than a week after he and Ott tested positive for COVID-19, Ott said. Johnson, a candidate last year for the Supreme Court of Georgia, is a past president of the state Council for Superior Court Judges and was its first Black president.