West Virginians lost a determined champion last week with the passing of former U.S. Rep. David B. McKinley. Many of them might never have known how much thought — and work — he put into serving the state he loved, but they are better off because of him, just the same.

Never the kind to worry about the letter after his or his colleagues’ last names more than about doing the right thing, McKinley was also unwilling to give in to the temptation to campaign via efforts to score dirty political points. Operatives across the country may have been advising candidates to do just that as politics changed so rapidly during McKinley’s last campaign, but he stood firm.

After all, Mildred Schmidt deserved better.

Though there surely are some Mildred Schmidts in West Virginia, hers was also the relatively rare name McKinley chose to represent all ordinary West Virginians — and Mildred was always top of his mind.

“Mildred Schmidt is not going to be able to afford that!” he might say, when asked a question about how a piece of legislation might affect the people he represented so dutifully. Putting a name — an individual — to the consequences of Washington, D.C.’s chaos helped McKinley (and his colleagues) remember who he was working for.

He did that work without fear of reaching across the aisle, without fear of asking for more information or another opinion, and without worry about whether he was toeing a party line.

McKinley was intelligent, practical and compassionate — with unusually high ethical standards for someone who had been in politics for decades.

“David McKinley was one of the most principled men I’ve ever known,” said now-U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey, who ran against McKinley back in 1980 for a state House of Delegates seat. “His sole consideration was what was best for the people of West Virginia. He did not consider political party or his re-election chances when it came to his vote …”

He was a true public servant. U.S. Sen. Jim Justice put it perfectly when he said, “He was a great man that cared a whole lot about our state.”

Mildred Schmidt — all of the Mountain State — will miss him, terribly.