Arnold Christensen, who served as Utah Senate president for 10 years, died Wednesday from complications related to diabetes.

He was 72.

An electrician by trade, Christensen served 17 years in the Senate. His tenure as president lasted from 1985 to 1994, when he stepped down early to serve a mission for the LDS Church.

Christensen was known as a man of few words, and plain ones, even when he got into politics.

"He was what he was," said Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce President Lane Beattie, who was elected Senate president after Christensen.

Beattie recalled one of the early lessons imparted to him by his predecessor. The Senate sometimes was criticized for being eclipsed by the louder and more dramatic House, and Beattie asked Christensen why he didn't more aggressively flex Senate muscle.

"'Well, Lane,'" he said, 'we don't have to. We're in control.'"

Christensen was right, Beattie said. The House could make all the impassioned speeches it wanted, but still needed the Senate to pass a bill.

Annette Moore, secretary of the Senate, served under Christensen for only a few months. But her mother, Sophia Buckmiller, held the secretary post for many years until she became ill in the early 1990s. Christensen "used to come and see her several times a week" during that illness, Moore recalled.

"He was softhearted, and he wasn't afraid to express emotion."

Former Gov. Norm Bangerter during his eight years in that office worked closely with Christensen, then-Senate president, just as the two had done for years in the construction business.

Bangerter called him a man of "integrity and dedication. ... He didn't live his life for politics. It's something that came to him."

Former Senate President Miles "Cap" Ferry, now a lobbyist, was one of Christensen's closest friends.

"Arnold Christensen," he said, "was a loyal, honest friend who loved his family, his church and his country."

Ferry said Christensen's calm, steady personality was a good fit in the Senate, which he described as a sort of cooling saucer for the House's hot tea.

Christensen was an avid hunter and angler.

Once, when asked by a news reporter how long an upcoming special session of the Legislature would last, the then-Senate President said it would be over the following Thursday.

How did he know?

"The elk hunt," Christensen responded.

Christensen is survived by his wife, Ann, four children, 16 children and 16 great-grandchildren.

A viewing is scheduled 6-8 p.m. Friday at Larkin Sunset Gardens Mortuary, 1950 E. 10600 South in Sandy. The funeral is noon Saturday at the Draper 6th Ward, 12870 S. 1300 East.