Colleagues remembered former Attorney General Earl Anzai as “a dedicated public servant” who devoted a quarter of a century to the state.

Anzai, whose roles included a clerk in the 1976 State Constitutional Convention, the chief clerk of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, a staff attorney at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the director of finance and state attorney general, died Sunday. He was 81.

Anzai succeeded Attorney General Margery Bronster and served as the attorney general from 1999 to 2002 after being nominated by Gov. Ben Cayetano.

“I will never forget when he told me, ‘Now I will show you how it is supposed to be done’,” Bronster said in a press release. “He did a great job, respected the laws, and made me proud to be his friend and colleague.”

He also was remembered as a well-respected private practice attorney.

“Earl Anzai was a dedicated public servant as both Attorney General and Budget Director for the State of Hawaiʻi,” former Attorney General Mark Bennett said.

Brian Furuto, who served as special assistant to Anzai in 2001, said, “Beneath his low-key exterior, he genuinely cared for people, and he touched the lives of many, leaving a lasting legacy of kindness and wisdom.”