LOCKPORT, N.Y. — People who knew former Congressman John LaFalce best say one of the first things that stood out when you met him was his vast intelligence and passion for knowledge.

National Council of Textile Organizations President Kimberly Glas worked for LaFalce from 2000-2003, the last three years of his 28 years tenure in Congress. 

"He was known as the smartest member of Congress but not in a way that is off-putting," Glas said. "The smartest people that ever exist are those who are constantly seeking input from others."

After serving four years in the New York state Legislature, LaFalce hit the ground running in Washington. In 1974, Western New Yorkers elected the then 35-year-old Democrat and some of his first acts were leading the federal government response to the Love Canal environmental disaster and working with families in the Niagara Falls neighborhood.

"You think about a freshman congressman, very hard to get things done, you have to work your way up the system, Superfund and those environmental cleanups are a result of what John's leadership meant in Washington," Glas said.

LaFalce was known as a consensus builder. Republican Jack Quinn spent 12 years traveling back and forth from Washington with his congressional colleague.

He said they worked together on issues like minimum wage and more. 

"There's some Democrats that don't want to help a Republican, some Republican who don't want to help Democrat. We just switched the lineups. John took the 10 or 15 I couldn't get to. I took the 10 or 15 he couldn't get to. Before you know it we had 30 or 40 votes on a letter to the speaker," Quinn said.

YWCA of the Niagara Frontier Vice President of Programs Mary Brennan-Taylor, another former staffer, said LaFalce was also deeply influenced by his faith. He strongly opposed abortion, even as it became a polarizing issue for Democrats later in his tenure.

"He knew who he was. He knew what his beliefs were and he always, certainly his votes were always well-researched, but things such as the pro-life issue were something that he felt viscerally," Brennan-Taylor said.

LaFalce passed away Friday in hospice care in Lockport. His legacy includes championing financial services reform and friends and colleagues said he was a giant in Washington.

However, they said how he will truly be remembered is as a person willing to help anybody who reached out to him no matter their political affiliation and no problem was too small.

"Here's a guy who dined with presidents and met with world leaders and popes but cared about your own personal life," Brennan-Taylor said.

Quinn was an educator before he entered politics but said LaFalce was often his teacher.

"What he taught me was listen, if people are backed up so much that they've got to call some congressman for something, they're really frustrated. They're upset and they're frustrated. So when somebody comes through, he'd say, ‘we need to help them. Let's get it done,’ " he said.

Glas said her former boss, with whom she became even closer after he retired, was unique.

"John had an incredible heart and he cared for people deeply," she said. "He was not a transactional individual by any stretch."

They said the people that worked in his office really became part of his family. He came to the hospital when their children were born, attended weddings and supported them through deaths in the family.

Friends said he loved Italy and Italian food, and if you were out to eat with him, even two decades after he retired, people would still come up and thank him for things he did for them personally.