The news of the passing of Steve Elias came as a tremendous shock to the many people he had touched here, as all who knew him understood this man was a rare kind of person, a man of incredible talents and equally impressive levels of compassion.

Most of us here in Lake County knew Steve from his work behind a microphone at KPFZ, where he hosted several shows and was such an integral part of the the huge amount of work that took place behind the scenes to keep the station on the air.

But there were also those hundreds of local people he helped with legal issues and the millions of people who were helped by the dozens of books he authored on handling legal matters yourself, and it was for the latter he became a nationally recognized expert in various areas of the law.

Steve helped me with my own legal matters, and always did it without hesitation or expecting anything in return, he was as close to being a "people's lawyer" as one could possibly get as his goal was to at all times level the playing field in a realm where that is seldom the case.

But there was so much more to Steve than just the law, this man had an insatiable appetite for knowledge and was in my estimation the most intelligent, well-informed person I had ever met.

He was a veteran, spoke fluent Chinese, and somehow ended up here far from his starting point in Vermont. He had endured extreme personal hardships of many kinds yet he was always the first to offer someone in need the help they required without ever considering first what was in it for himself.

He had a tough sort of honesty about him but he was at the core a bleeding heart liberal, a description he would never shy away from, and nothing showed his depth of compassion better than his feelings expressed towards his wife Catherine, who he adored like no man I have ever seen care for their spouse. Together they made a team that was as unique as it was impressive, and now our hearts and prayers go out to Catherine and the rest of the Elias family.

It was a great privilege for me to be able to work with Steve and Catherine for several years at KPFZ. I shall always hold those memories close to my heart and cherish them as much as I have with the others who have gone before them, giants like Jim Kovacs, Charlie Kittleson and Bonnie Perkins.

But I think there is no one I will miss as much as my dear friend Steve Elias, a real-live hero who I will always be indebted to for what he did for me and everyone else who knew this gift of a man.

Philip Murphy lives in Finley, Calif.