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SHICKSHINNY — State Sen. Lisa Baker Tuesday said the entire community mourns the loss of former Rep. George Hasay, who died Monday at the age of 73.

“I am saddened by his passing and consider it a true privilege to have been his friend and to have worked with him during his many years in the House of Representatives,” Baker said. “He contributed to our community through his extensive political and civic leadership over several decades. He was firm in his positions and principles and dedicated to serving his constituents, yet always knew how to work with others to accomplish results.”

Hasay was a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1973 until 2006.

He was a 1966 graduate of Northwest Area High School and he earned a degree from Wilkes-Barre Business College in 1968 and attended Husson College.

In a past Times Leader story, Hasay attributed his electoral success to his constituent service.

“Returning all the phone calls a legislator gets,” he told the newspaper. “If you can’t do it in one day, you sit down and do it the next day. They have to be returned.”

Hasay noted some of the legislation he was involved with and took pride in — he helped craft compromise legislation that led to 1988’s Act 101, which made the state one of the first in the nation with a statewide recycling program and made landfill standards more stringent.

He also noted he had a hand in legislation that forces the state to reimburse municipalities for law enforcement costs associated with searching for an escaped state prisoner. That legislation resulted from inmates escaping from the State Correctional Institution at Dallas.

Hasay was also proud of bills that required all state banks to have federal deposit insurance, raised money for conservation projects through the sale of special license plates and mandated environmental protection measures at landfills.

“George continuously collaborated toward positive goals by cutting through the red tape of bureaucracy and making government work for the good of the community,” said Baker, R-Lehman Township. “He knew the pulse of the people he represented and earned their trust, and as a public servant I cannot think of a better legacy to leave.

“I extend my heartfelt condolences to his wife Nancy, daughter Rachel and entire family during this difficult time.”

Rep. Tarah Toohil said Hasay was “a dear friend” who was hardworking and influential.

”He was very involved and called our office every couple of days, still working on community issues or referring constituents with problems even until last week,” said Toohil, R-Butler Township. “He was an ardent and devoted public servant until the end. He always had Pennsylvania’s best interest at heart. I was blessed to have weekly phone calls with him and to call him a mentor.”

Toohil said after re-districting in 2011, Hasay officially became Toohil’s constituent and was very involved in addressing community needs.

“He was a hands-on legislator and remained so, especially with addressing transportation funding and road repair concerns,” Toohil said. “Every six months we would go for our ‘Rep. Hasay Road Tour’ through the Northwest corner of the 116th Legislative District to itemize infrastructure concerns.”

Toohil said Hasay served in the legislature for over 32 years and remained very active politically in retirement.

“He had a bastion of institutional and historical knowledge,” Toohil said. “With the passing of his friend, Patrick Solano, we have lost two of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s pillars in politics just days apart.”

Longtime lawmaker Hasay mourned, praised