Most Mainers saw Duane “Buzz” Fitzgerald for the last time during Gov. King’s State of the State address in January, where he received the first Governor’s Award for Extraordinary Public Service for his work. Mr. Fitzgerald, who died of brain cancer Friday at age 62, easily deserved such an award, and his calming demeanor and wise words will be missed by Maine’s leaders.

Some watching the State of the State might have wondered what the fuss was all about. Mr. Fitzgerald was never elected to high office, didn’t regularly appear on television to offer views on this or that and he didn’t make a big deal about connections or wealth. He was known primarily as an attorney and as chief executive at Bath Iron Works. By his own doing, he was not widely known as a philanthropist, a trustee of the University of Maine System, activist in innumerable public causes and adviser to state policy-makers, though he was all of these things. Gov. King not long ago said Mr. Fitzgerald was the person to call at midnight or 6 a.m. when an intractable problem was in dire need of ethical guidance.

A native of St. John, Mr. Fitzgerald moved south early on when his father took went to work at the BIW shipyard. Buzz Fitzgerald took County common sense with him, which served him well when he too worked for BIW, eventually as CEO. And it seemed that plenty of people felt the same way Gov. King did about seeking advice from Mr. Fitzgerald. Former Chief Justice Daniel Wathen yesterday said, “The unusual thing about ‘Buzzy’ is that so many people felt comfortable and reassured about seeking his advice. I guess that’s why I would describe him as a brother, someone you felt comfortable going to.”

When Sen. Susan Collins joined the Armed Services Committee, she naturally turned to Mr. Fitzgerald for advice. (“He told me that the military had a whole new language and that I should get a dictionary of the jargon so I could enter the debate, and he was right.”) But two of his accomplishments not often recognized, she recalled yesterday, were his leadership as a UMaine trustee during hard budget times and his rapport with workers in the BIW shipyard that allowed the company to outperform all others. “He was a mentor to so many of us and he had a thirst for public service,” Sen. Collins said. “He gave some of the wisest advice I’ve ever received.”

Public service matched with an indifference to public accolades is a rare thing, and it wasn’t until the extent of Mr. Fitzgerald’s cancer was understood that he really began to receive the recognition that was his due much earlier. He seemed to take the gestures of appreciation in good spirits, offering a bemused smile at the many kind words spoken about him and sincere appreciation for all he held dear in life, always making special note of his family. When it came time in 2000 for the Libra Foundation to name a program for government problem solving at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School, there was no question but to call it the Duane D. Fitzgerald Gubernatorial Endowment for the State of Maine.

Maine leaders commented on Mr. Fitzgerald’s passing yesterday, but countless people benefited from his wisdom or his generous spirit. He will be missed in Maine for many years to come.