SALEM - Friends and colleagues remembered J. Michael Ruane yesterday as a hardworking state representative and a loyal friend. Here's a sampling of the reaction to his passing.

Tom Finneran, former Massachusetts House speaker

"Mike was a special friend. One feels a sense of closeness with all your colleagues, but some members more than others, and this guy was really one of a kind. The most memorable aspect of Mike's character was the passion that he brought every day

I mean every day. Passion on behalf of the most overlooked population in the commonwealth and the country, and that was the ordinary working stiff who gets up and goes to work every day, pays his or her taxes without question and just looks for straight talk and honest government. Those were the people that Mike carried on a crusade for, literally, to his last breath."

John O'Leary, president, Salem firefighters union

"I don't think there will be another guy ever to replace him or what he did for the city."

Ruane's death is a personal loss, said O'Leary, whose late father was one of Ruane's closest friends. After O'Leary's father died, Ruane "made sure that our family stayed on the right track. He helped my mother out a lot in what was a tough time for us. ...

"The guy had the most heart I've ever seen. He just was out to make things right for everyone who goes through tough times. ... He is family (for firefighters), and we are going to treat this as a line-of-duty death and give him a goodbye that his family will never forget."

Fred Berry, Senate majority leader

"Mike and I shared a district for about 24 years. Whatever our disagreements, we always agreed to try to make Salem better. I truly admired his tenacity and endurance. I had some difficult times in my life, and I know he had difficult times. But we truly had a bond in terms of surviving some tragedy in our personal lives to focus on the job at hand, which was serving our constituents...

"I always admired his tenacity, his total dedication to his ideals and the way he always felt that people in Salem came first... Salem was his city, there was no doubt about it."

John Keenan, Salem state representative

"It certainly is a sad day for Salem to see the passing of someone who has given virtually his entire life to the city. He will be remembered as a giant in terms of Salem politics for a long time to come. My only wish, really, is that he had had a better and longer retirement to enjoy.

"I think in a lot of ways his life was his work as a state representative. That is what Rep. Ruane was all about. He had some strong beliefs, and he fought very dearly for them. At the end of the day, it was always about doing what was right for what he called the great city of Salem."

Sharon Armstrong, former administrative assistant

"Before I worked in the state Legislature and with Mike Ruane, I had a feeling all politicians are this and that. He couldn't have been any more honest, moral, loyal to his city. And it gives you this great feeling, like 'Oh, my God, this man truly loves the city he represents.' I don't think any man could have done any better in all those years... Working for him was absolutely like a dream come true... He was very proud and very loyal...

"When anything went wrong in my life, one of the first persons I called was Mike Ruane. I'd go over there and cry about losing my brother, and he couldn't have been more comforting. I could call at midnight, and he would come right over."

Kim Driscoll, Salem mayor

"This is the passing of one of Salem's most prominent legislators both in terms of duration and what he was able to deliver to the city."

Driscoll personally felt Ruane's political power several years ago when a state trooper pulled her family's car over in Rhode Island. When the trooper realized they were from Salem, he said: "When you go back to your city, you can thank Mike Ruane for not getting a ticket." The trooper said Ruane had "taken a shining to him" when he did an internship at the Statehouse.

"His influence went way beyond Salem," Driscoll said.

Nancy Harrington, president of Salem State College

"Mike was a really good friend of Salem State College and a good friend of mine, a good supporter of mine. He always considered Salem State his college, and he did an amazing number of things for us, and he did them really well. He will be missed."

Sally Hayes, neighbor and former city councilor

"The Ruanes have been wonderful neighbors and our family treasures their friendship."

Sam Zoll, retired judge and former Salem mayor

"He was a very distinguished public servant for Salem.

"I was elected mayor in 1969, and he was elected to the Salem City Council in '69. He served on the council and was very supportive of my administration. He was very supportive of many of the programs we were advocating in the city.

"He was a very caring, passionate public servant. I liked him a lot. He was very decent, very honest, extremely hard-working and very forthright. I was always proud to be associated with him in public service. This is a sad day for the Ruane family, and it's a sad day for the city and his many friends."

Cynthia Napierkowski, Salem High band director

"He adopted the band as part of his family. We took pictures with Mr. Ruane with graduating seniors. The band is a very special family, and he's a very special man. He's always supported us financially. It's a tremendous loss."

Ed Curtin, retired Salem school superintendent

"He was an incredible human being who really loved his family and his city more than anyone I have ever met. He had a tremendous loyalty to his friends and to people in need in Salem, and probably more than any politician was responsible for getting the support from the Legislature for numerous projects and causes that the city of Salem needed over the years.

"He was a people person, someone you could pick up the telephone and call no matter who you were. Mike would listen to you and try to support whatever you were asking for. Truthfully, I think he was a giant who was never given the recognition he should have been given.