Former state Rep. Joseph Steighner died Tuesday at his Butler Township home. He had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer in February. He was 69.

A native of New Castle, Steighner served 16 years in the House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 11th District. He was a Democrat and was elected in 1978.

Steighner is survived by his wife, Joan, and their two children, Christopher and Bethann, and three grandchildren.

News of his passing sparked warm remembrances from friends and colleagues.

“He was a great guy, unpretentious and a dedicated public servant,” said childhood friend James Zambroski, a Butler native who now lives in Tampa, Fla. “There was never a whiff of scandal with him; he was never investigated and never indicted.”

A gifted politician is how Butler Township Commissioner Fred Vero remembered Steighner. Vero was employed as Steighner's chief of staff for eight years, beginning in 1986.

“Joe had a good personality,” Vero said, “and he paid attention to constituent service.”

Steighner graduated from Butler Area Senior High School and attended Butler County Community College and Slippery Rock State College, which is now Slippery Rock University.

He became interested in politics at an early age and served as president of Butler County Young Democrats from 1968 to 1972.

Steighner served as dog officer for Butler County, Vero said, before he decided to run for the House seat vacated by the retirement of Jack Arthurs.

He won a close race against Republican Alan “Bud” Daum.

Like Arthurs, Steighner was regarded as conservative on social issues, but a strong advocate of organized labor.

During his tenure, he served as the chairman of the House Game and Fisheries Committee and was a member of the House Conservation Committee.

“He wanted to be on committees that were for the sportsman,” said Zambroski. “That was sort of his bailiwick.”

Zambroski remembered Steighner as an avid hunter and fisherman. Steighner also had a passion for golf, Vero noted, and he was a Pittsburgh sports fan.

Not some back bencher, Steighner was elected by his Democratic House colleagues as majority caucus secretary in 1990 and re-elected to that same leadership position in 1992.

He retired from the House on Nov. 30, 1994, and founded Joseph A. Steighner and Associates, a consulting and lobbying firm based in Harrisburg.

The late Guy Travaglio was elected to take over his House seat, which is what Steighner wanted. Vero stayed on to work as Travaglio's chief of staff.

Looking back on Steighner's service, Vero recalled the one-time political bond his former boss had with the late Gov. Bob Casey, a fellow Democrat.

“I remember the first time he came into my office and says, 'Come on, we're going to the governor's office,'” Vero said. “I said, 'You serious?' and he says, 'Yup.' He had no reservations of going over there if he wanted something for the district.

“It was pretty impressive that he actually had the governor's ear,” Vero said.

Steighner not only hosted a number of visits by Casey to the district, but then-Transportation Secretary Howard Yerusalim also was a frequent visitor.

“If we had some road problems, Joe took (Yerusalim) around personally and showed him,” Vero said, “and it was done. Joe was not one to sit back and let things go.”

A private service for Steighner was held Wednesday at Geibel Funeral Home on Cunningham Street in Butler.