SAXONBURG — Former Republican legislator Jim Burd’s death at the age of 81 on Monday looms, for many, like an elephant in the middle of the room.

Or, more accurately, the former state representative’s passing means they’ll not again see the iconic elephant that accompanied him to community events.

“It’s hard to think of Jim Burd without thinking of that elephant. Jim had a life-size elephant that he would tow to county events like the fair or the farm show. When it was not there, it was in his front yard. As soon as you think of Jim Burd, you think of that doggone elephant,” said Butler attorney Al Lindsay.

“Jim certainly was a mainstay in the Republican party in Butler County for the past 40 years, or at least as long as I’ve been involved in politics here. He was devoted to his job as a state legislator and in Masonic affairs, always was pushing Butler County.”

District Judge Tim Shaffer, who served as state senator for the 21st District from 1980 to 1996, said it was a pleasure working with Burd, who served the House’s 12th District from 1976 to 1991.

“We always just got along. It always was a pleasure. I guess it’s just not that way anymore, between the House and Senate from what I’ve heard,” Shaffer said.

“He always started with a joke, a new joke you hadn’t heard before. It just put everybody in a good mood. That’s one thing I’ll always remember about him: He was happy most every day of his life. The rest of us should be so lucky.”

Republican state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, first elected to Burd’s 12th District seat in 1998, said he will sponsor a condolence resolution in the House to be sent to his predecessor’s family after passage.

“We’re sorry for his loss and our condolences go out to his family,” Metcalfe said.

“I read in his obituary that he was a U.S. Army veteran, like myself. We had more in common than we ever knew. I know he will be missed by his family and those folks in the area, whom he continued to serve even after his time in the House.”

Butler attorney Tom King said Burd was a great friend to him and his family.

“(Burd) was very active in politics and in charitable events with Masonic causes. He was just a terrific guy and a pillar in the community. When you thought of Saxonburg, there were several people you thought of, and one of them was Jim Burd,” King said.

“He will be sorely missed. He is part of that entire generation that is passing on. They were workers and leaders and contributors in their communities.”

Burd served in the U.S. Army in Korea from 1952 to 1954 and upon returning home began a career as a small businessman, founding a small chain of Laundromats, an excavation and grading business and, for the past two decades, a custom sawmill operation.

Fox Funeral Home in Saxonburg is handling the funeral arrangements.