Jack Suwa rose from humble roots as the son of a Big Island truck farmer to become a highly regarded chairman of the House Finance Committee for several terms in the 1970s.

“;He was not the most eloquent or articulate person in the world, but he was very bright,”; said former Gov. George Ariyoshi. “;He knew what was good for Hawaii and what the people wanted.

“;As chairman of the Finance Committee ... sometimes you have to take some very tough stands because of the resources available or not available. He knew what had to be done to keep the state in good fiscal condition.”;

Suwa died Friday at his Kurtistown home with family surrounding him. He was 85.

Suwa was elected in 1958 to the territorial House, and later to the state House, where he served 20 years. He then served as deputy transportation director from 1978 to 1984.

Suwa's agricultural background made him a staunch supporter of agriculture, so Ariyoshi appointed him to serve as director of the Department of Agriculture.

Born to a large Paauilo family named Ebata, young Jack was adopted by the Suwas of Kurtistown. They leased cane fields from the sugar plantation and sold cane back to the plantation. The young man planted and harvested cane himself on some plantation fields that he had.

“;A little-known fact was he was a terrific mechanic,”; said his son, Alan. “;He could fix any cane haul truck. He'd fix the big ones. He won awards for troubleshooting in the Army.”;

Suwa served as tank commander in the Army, and could have chosen a career in the military, but left as a first lieutenant, Alan Suwa said.

After attending a mainland college for less than a year, Suwa got homesick and returned to work at the Puna Sugar Plantation. He worked hard, and eventually became a supervisor.

“;He rode the wave of the nisei leadership role in the community and politics,”; Alan Suwa said, as many of his contemporaries went on to do.

Ariyoshi, while serving as a senator in the Legislature, got to know Suwa as a Democratic representative serving the 1st District, Puna.

“;I appreciated the kind of person he was more than anything else — rock solid,”; he said. “;His word was as good as gold. For me, it was a pleasure to have known him as a person, a privilege to call him a friend.”;

How did Suwa manage with less than a year of college education?

“;He'd work late at night understanding the budget,”; Alan Suwa said. “;He always did his homework.”;

Of his father's accomplishments, Alan Suwa said getting funding for the first major divided highway through the Panaewa rain forest, for the Chain of Craters Road through the lava fields, allowing tourists to drive a complete circle in Volcanoes National Park, and for transforming a small college into the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Despite his accomplishments, Suwa maintained humility.

“;He once took up a broom to help sweep up at Hono-lulu International Airport late one night, according to custodian reports,”; his son said. “;That's him. If he sees something not right, he could take care of it and get it done. That was his trademark — being humble.”;

“;If you talk to reporters, he never articulated his position well,”; Alan Suwa said. “;He was never a public person, but he was generous and fair to those who knew him.”;

Star-Bulletin reporter Richard Borreca said: “;Jack was famous for mumbling, nearly indecipherable floor speeches, but once you figured them out, you saw that he was way ahead of most of the other reps on the floor.

“;Jack was a good guy, one of the original multitasking masters of the state budget, an old-style AJA politician. We could use more like him today.”;

Suwa is survived by his wife, Fusae, sons Alan and Wesley, daughters Sharon Toyota and Corinne Kalani, brother Kenneth Ebata, sister Carol Suzuki and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service in Hilo will be held at 5 p.m. Feb. 13 at Dodo Mortuary. Visitation is 3 p.m. A Honolulu service will be held at a later date.