Following an announcement that he would be discontinuing his treatment for cancer, the former Boston mayor passed away at about 9 a.m. this morning, according to a statement released by his family.

Menino won his first election in 1993, and was continually reelected until 2014, when he made the decision not to run. His successor, Mayor Marty Walsh, released a statement lamenting the loss of Menino.

“Today the City of Boston mourns together,” Walsh said. “To any who had come to know him, it is no surprise that more than half of Boston had a direct interaction with Tom Menino. No man possessed a greater love for our City, and his dedicated life in service to Boston and her people and changed the face of the City.”

Governor Deval Patrick and Secretary of State John Kerry have also released statements and taken to Twitter to post their personal thoughts about Menino’s passing.

“Tom Menino was Boston. In fact, if you just look around the city, you’ll see with your own eyes that he is Boston today,” Kerry said.

President Barack Obama released a statement through the White House saying his thoughts were with the people of Boston and Menino’s family during this time.

“Bold, big-hearted, and Boston strong, Tom was the embodiment of the city he loved and led for more than two decades,” Obama said. “As Boston’s longest-serving mayor, Tom helped make his hometown the vibrant, welcoming, world-class place it is today.  His legacy lives on in every neighborhood he helped revitalize, every school he helped turn around, and every community he helped make a safer, better place to live.”