We will miss Mike Enzi

Sometimes, people come into our lives and change them forever. We believe that happens for communities, too. Sometimes, people come into communities and change them forever.

Mike Enzi is one of those. He came to Gillette in 1969 and spent the next 52 years being not only its biggest cheerleader, but also its clutch three-point shooter.

That was Enzi when he first decided to run for mayor and then turned the boomtown in the right direction. That was Enzi as a state legislator when he helped lead the state out of significant downturn. That was Enzi when he surprised many and won a seat in the U.S. Senate, and then went on to work tirelessly for 24 years for the state he loved, including passing bills that secured billions of dollars in Abandoned Mine Land funds for Wyoming.

His accomplishments are legendary in this town. With his retirement just seven short months ago, we’d said goodbye to those.

But no one was prepared to say goodbye this early to Mike Enzi the man, the one who townspeople recalled not so much as The Senator, but just as Mike, our hometown hero.

His death Monday night at age 77 was a blow to all who knew him. Even if one didn’t always like his political opinions, it was difficult not to like him.

Soon after the news broke of his untimely and tragic death, the superlatives started rolling in.

“Mike Enzi was a moral compass for many of us, and he always pointed true north,” said John Barrasso, his Wyoming colleague in the U.S. Senate.

“He was the epitome of grace in a business often filled with vitriol and hyperbole. He was understated, but effective. He listened more and talked less,” said Wyoming Secretary of State Ed Buchanan.

“You could be sure any event that included Mike would be better because of his intellect, his dedication, determination and wonderful dry sense of humor,” said U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney.

“At a time of increasing political incivility, Mike Enzi managed to tactfully navigate the upper chamber, producing results that will be felt for generations to come,” said Cynthia Lummis, who replaced him in the U.S. Senate.

“He was a problem solver who worked tirelessly to find common ground to get things done. He leaves behind a legacy of cooperation to be admired,” said Gillette Mayor Louise Carter-King.

“While we sat on different sides of the aisle, I always saw him first as a public servant who conducted himself with decency, honor and integrity,” said President Joe Biden.

Superlatives can be unbelievable.

In Enzi’s case, they’re all true.

He was an astute lawmaker, one who enjoyed the nuts and bolts of legislating, not so much the politics. He liked getting things done.

This was a man who always kept a list of 100 things to do — not goals like, “I want to be a U.S. Senator,” which amazingly, never made his list. It was things like, “fly fishing in all 50 states.” Or, “I want to be on ESPN,” which he told us in 2003 was one of his. “I kept telling them, ‘I’m more athletic than I look,’” he said, his dry sense of humor in full display.

The thing about the list was that if he accomplished one, he’d move it to a “done” list. And then add another so his list of things to accomplish always had 100. Eighteen years ago, he had 400 things on his “done” list. We didn’t have a chance to ask him how many he’d accomplished in the years since.

This man who loved the Crawfish Boil because the seeming impossibility of it — crawfish in Wyoming? — was a shining example of people getting together to get things done while helping others.

He was a man whose struck up an improbable friendship with Sen. Ted Kennedy — a liberal yin to Enzi’s conservative yang — because they shared the common love of legislating and working for the common good to accomplish something.

He was an optimist because optimists refuse to loll around pouting about impossibilities. He spoke well of people because he believed of the good in them and he cared about people. He was someone whose positive attitude was infectious. He worked hard and rewarded others who worked hard, too. His favorite titles were those of husband, father and grandfather as a man who supported and loved his family beyond belief.

He was a man who never gave up on Gillette. At a fundraiser in April, he brushed aside others’ doubts about Gillette’s future given the declining demand for fossil fuels. Gillette’s reached a size where it’s self-sustaining, he said, and hinted at developments to come that would ensure its future.

He was our champion for so many years, it’s hard to imagine what we will do without him.

Those lucky enough to know him — and Mike didn’t know many strangers — are brokenhearted today because of the loss of a good human being.

We will miss him terribly.