Virginia is a better place because Joe Gartlan chose to spend his life in service to the commonwealth. It truly can be said of Joe that he left the world better than he found it, and in the process set a high standard for those who follow.

When Joe joined the Senate in 1972, it was still dominated by traditional Democratic conservatives. To say that he did not fit the mold of the place would be to miss the point; in the following years he mastered its intricacies, made friends across the dividing lines, and helped to transform an institution known as the burying ground for legislation into a place where legislative accomplishments accumulated.

He was an eloquent orator on the Senate floor, a compelling storyteller, and a passionate advocate for the environment, the mentally and physically disabled, and the poor. He enjoyed it all and was never as happy as when he won a vote on something that mattered. More often than not, he had the votes. He never forgot that while a good case is necessary, having the votes is what counts.

JOE WAS a champion for the environment and the Chesapeake Bay long before it was fashionable. He was instrumental in helping to pass Virginia's first Wetlands Protection Act. Countless thousands of acres of wetlands have been preserved as a result of the precedent that bill set. It set up, years later, the passage of a more comprehensive Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, which has been so important to making the connection between land-use practices and water quality for the protection of the Chesapeake Bay.

Joe then helped pass legislation to protect state freshwater wetlands, and to appropriate the funds needed to fulfill the commonwealth's conservation mandate. He took his oath to uphold the Virginia Constitution -- and especially Article XI, the environmental conservation article -- seriously.

Over the years Joe received many honors for his public service. None of them was "honorary" -- he earned every one. He was able to get legislative results by working with his colleagues to find majorities to pass bills to improve the quality of life for us all. He earned every bit of the respect and accolades showered upon him by his colleagues on both sides of the aisle when he retired from the Senate in 2000.

My family and I were always excited when Joe accepted our dinner invitations during legislative sessions. For us it was a highlight of the winter, and for him an opportunity to kick back, tell stories, and make everyone around the table laugh. His extraordinary wife, Fredona, accompanied him when she was in town, and if anyone could improve an otherwise perfect evening of family, food, wine, and conversation, it was she.

DURING legislative sessions, or at various meetings, I could always see him approaching seemingly "a mile away." The first things you noticed were his cockeyed grin, his sparkling eyes, and the hint of a story just bursting to be told. In particular he had an endless supply of Irish jokes that made one proud to be from the fabled land that truly did save Western civilization. He could tell a joke with the timing of a late-night comedian; he was that good!

Of course, Joe's storytelling was not limited to a good joke. He understood the power of stories and he used his ability to persuade his colleagues to vote for bills that might otherwise never have been supported. He could make the plight of the Chesapeake Bay or the mentally disabled or the poor real in the form of people who were counting on the commonwealth to do the right thing! Right action was his passion. To do right by the least of us is not only a Christian imperative; for him, it was a call to action and legislation that made people's lives better.

May the angels meet him at the gates of heaven. May they have a story or two just waiting to tell him. And may God hold him gently in the palm of His hand -- and not squeeze too tightly!

Gerald P. McCarthy is executive director of Virginia Environmental Endowment, a member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, and was a friend of Sen. Joe Gartlan's for 36 years. Contact him at gmccarthy@vee.org.