Oregon Public Broadcasting

Several hundred people gathered at the Capitol in Salem  Saturday for the memorial of State Treasurer Ben Westlund. 

He died last week after a struggle with cancer.

Friends and colleagues from Westlund’s long career in government filled the  House chambers at the Oregon Capitol.

They celebrated his legacy: health care reform and protection of the Metolius river;  a lawsuit on behalf of Oregonians who lost money in the state’s college fund.

Westlund's House desk sat empty during the service.

State Senator Betsy Johnson first met Westlund in high school in Portland.

She said he loved everything about working in state government.

“Ben always saw what others missed. Oregon was still small enough, intimate enough that one guy could make a difference. Ben always thought of himself as that guy," she said.

Westlund’s name plate was placed on his old desk on the House floor.

The desk sat empty during the service.

State Representative Bob Jenson said, "Ben recognized the political necessity of party but Ben was not much of a partisan. He was at times a Republican, an Independent, a Democrat. Ben’s first and real party was Oregonian.”