New Mexico Speaker of the House Ben Luján was remembered in speeches given by some of the most powerful politicians in the state at a memorial service Thursday morning (Dec. 27) in the rotunda of the State Capitol but the most affecting words were delivered by those who worked with him.
“He would say, ‘we’re all part of the same family here in New Mexico,’ ” special assistant Lisa Ortiz told the hundreds onhand, remembering her time working with Speaker Luján before adding, “It seems the longer I’ve been here, the smaller the world becomes.”
And after the service, Capitol Report New Mexico spoke to long-time chief of staff Regis Pecos, who described Luján as his soulmate and offered this intimate and memorable story about the final moments he shared with the man whom Pecos worked with during all 12 years of Luján’s speakership:
Transcript: How much are you going to miss him?
“I’m going to miss him … It’s difficult to put into words … I’m going to miss him physically but I know that his spirit will always be a part of mine. And those were his parting words before he passed was asking me to give me his breath. He took his (oxygen) mask off and he said, ‘Regis, give me your breath,’ which is the ultimate sharing, of being soulmates for as long as we have and he’ll forevere be my soulmate in that way.”
Memorial service for Speaker Ben Lujan, Roundhouse rotunda, 12/27/12
Luján died on Dec. 18 after a long battle with Stage 4 lung cancer. His career in the legislature spanned five decades. (Click here for more on his biography.)
“He was a a small, gentle guy but a political giant,” former Gov. Bill Richardson said at the service. “He may go down in history as the greatest New Mexico legislator.”
The man who is expected to succeed Luján as House Speaker, W. Ken Martinez (D-Grants), described him as “a very, very powerful man … If there was a question, which direction we would go, all eyes when to Ben Luján.”
“He wasn’t Ben to me,” Republican whip Don Bratton of Hobbs said, “he was Mr. Speaker.”
“He always put his people ahead of himself,” outgoing Senate Pro Tem Tim Jennings (D-Roswell) said. “He always put his members ahead of himself.”
“He was a strong and humble man,” Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle (R-Portales) said. “He had a warmth about him.”
A second visitation will be held on Friday (Dec. 28) at 5:30 p.m. at the Ben Lujan Gymnasium in Pojoaque with a rosary to be recited at 7 p.m.
A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 9 a.m. at the Basilica Cathedral of St. Francis in Santa Fe with interment to follow at Sagrado Corazon de Jesus Cemetery in Nambé.
