For a political office that most citizens consider important, individual governors usually are less eminent than they are eminently forgettable more administrators than leaders.

Former Washington Gov. Booth Gardner, who died Friday, could have been just another rich white guy greasing the skids of power for corporations like Weyerhaeuser, from which his family fortune sprang. But buoyed by an incisive and decisive mind, Gardner dreamed big and achieved meaningful goals.

A good part of Gardners wisdom consisted of knowing to leave elective office when he lost enthusiasm for it. His eight years from January 1985 to January 1993 resulted in the states Growth Management Act and major reforms of K-12 school standards, for example. Then, he resisted calls to run for a third term and got on with the next content-filled phases of his life.

One of the biggest of these consisted of leading efforts to allow Washington citizens to control the last phase of their lives. He led efforts to enact a law duplicating Oregons assisted dying law, allowing suicide prescriptions for patients with less than six months to live. More than 250 people have used this law since it went into effect in March 2009. Gardner wasnt one of them. Though he died after a long struggle with Parkinsons disease, its chronic nature does not qualify as a terminal illness under the law. Gardner understood this from the beginning, but believed it was important to give other people control over this paramount personal issue.

Its amazing to me how much this can help people get peace of mind, Gardner told The Associated Press at the time. There are more people who would like to have control over their final days than those who dont.

Though some remain adamantly opposed to the Death With Dignity law, growth management and other Gardner legacies, the fact is that individual empowerment and preservation of open spaces in Washingtons urban areas will improve quality of life for generations to come. The fact that he set the stage for an uninterrupted series of Democratic governors in the following decades indicates most state voters approve of the directions he set.

Gardner didnt allow controversy or poll results to dictate his actions, in or out of public office. By setting his sights high and then working hard to get there, he guaranteed he will not be soon forgotten.