Inside House Speaker Ben Luján's office in the basement of the Capitol, visitors streamed in, looking for name tags or information or a place to hang their coats. Staffers frantically worked the phones, rounding up lawmakers for an upcoming floor session. Students came by on a tour, and other people mingled around the coffeepots.

On the surface, these morning arrivals were part of the mundane preparation for another day at the Legislature.

But the guests' mission wasn't to greet the speaker for the day; it was to say goodbye. This time next year, someone else will sit in the speaker's office.

Luján signed off on his career in politics at noon Thursday with the end of a legislative session that began with his surprise retirement announcement due to advanced lung cancer. It's the end of a career that's been at the center of his life, and that of his family, since the Nambé resident was elected to the House of Representatives in 1974 after four years on the Santa Fe County Commission.

Luján's retirement brought a day that left many in New Mexico politics teary-eyed.

The guests in his office on Wednesday, the last full day of the session, made their way to the House floor, where a crowd gathered to pay tribute to the only leader some of the younger members of the House have known.

The accolades were many. Some came in broken voices, others with laughs.

Luján thanked the public for the opportunity to serve.

"It's a humbling experience, to say the least, and a deeply rewarding experience that we could contribute in some small way to make New Mexico and hopefully the U.S. and the world a better place," he said, flanked by family members including his wife, Carmen, who at times spent nearly as many hours in the Roundhouse as the speaker.

Later, at a news conference after the session ended, Luján said his legacy will be that he always worked as hard as he could.

"I always tried to do the very best," he said. "Sometimes I might have been accused of maybe not following the rules, but I think I made every effort to follow the rules."

Luján, who now turns his full attention to his health, said at the news conference that he was not in pain and was feeling OK for only having slept three hours Wednesday night.

Former state Rep. Tom Horan of Albuquerque, who served with Luján in the '70s and now works as a lobbyist, said the speaker will always be known for his stamina during lengthy debates at all hours of the night. Luján, he said, had "a bladder the size of North Dakota" and could "sit in that chair all night and never have a hair out of place."

Horan also said Luján has worked tirelessly not just for the state but for the area he represented.

"In his district, it is slightly lower in elevation than when he started because of all the projects," Horan quipped.

Former House Speaker Raymond Sanchez, who served in the post before Luján, said he knew when they met in 1975 that they were going to be friends.

While few people get to serve as speaker, he said, "even fewer of us have the honor and the privilege of meeting someone who becomes your instant friend, your companion, the person you trust with your life and the man who will cover your back no matter where you are."

Supporters say Luján is responsible for everything from workers' rights legislation to a movement against taxes on groceries. In his job as a legislator, and in leadership posts he has held since 1983, he has worked on issues almost too numerous to list, from job training to title insurance reform and tax increments for development districts.

When asked what his legacy might be, Luján mentioned his work to repeal the gross-receipts tax on groceries in the state.

"It still remains kind of controversial, but I feel that we provided a relief for the general public from having to pay taxes on their food," he said.

So, what will the Roundhouse be like without the man who became one of state government's most public faces?

Some lawmakers, worn down from recent late-night sessions, said it's too early too tell.

House Minority Leader Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, said Luján's retirement will bring a generational change in House leadership.

"With his departure, it's a new ball game," Taylor said. "He's going to be replaced by younger people, any way you look at it."

Several names have surfaced as possible candidates for the speaker's post, but few seemed willing to talk about that publicly, saying it was a time to honor Luján. Political observers have said Luján's retirement brings an end to an era of "old guard" politicians.

"It's going to be a very different dynamic," Taylor said.

The change also means a new representative for Luján's district, which includes parts of Santa Fe, Nambé and Tesuque. So far, Carl Trujillo, who narrowly lost to Luján in the 2010 election, has announced he is running.

The loss of Luján also leaves the Santa Fe delegation somewhat weakened. The city and county undoubtedly benefited from having its senior delegation member in the speaker position, something that's not likely to repeat anytime soon, given that the current mix of candidates for the job are all from outside Santa Fe.

Rep. Lucky Varela, a Democrat who has served in the House since 1987, now becomes the Santa Fe delegation's senior member. Given his posts on the House Appropriations and Finance Committee and the Legislative Finance Committee, some say there's no doubt Santa Fe will do fine in the next battle for capital outlay and other money.

Whoever replaces Luján, Varela said, will have a tough time living up to Luján's legacy.

"It's saddening to see that he departs," Varela said. "Regardless of the criticism, Ben to me has been a compassionate person."

"He's very convincing," Varela said. "I know that from experience."

After former Sen. Eddie Lopez of Santa Fe died in 1995, Varela considered running for that legislative seat -- but Luján dissuaded him.

"He said, 'I would ask that you stay in the House,' " Varela recalled. "And it was the right advice he gave me. It was the right decision."

In the hallways of the Capitol, others reflected on what Luján has done.

Fred Nathan, head of the nonprofit think tank Think New Mexico, said he'll remember the speaker for the energy he had in a place that can drain even the youngest members.

"I remember him on the House floor at 4 in the morning, and he had the most energy of anyone on the floor," Nathan said.

Even in the last hours of the session on Thursday morning, Luján appeared in his element, keeping track of complicated debates by tired lawmakers who sometimes lost track of the motions on which they were casting votes.

Nathan said Luján's fight to remove the food tax sticks out in his mind as one of the speaker's most important bills. "Without him, New Mexicans would still be paying taxes on their groceries."

Back in Luján's office, before the event to honor him, Carmen Luján sat outside the speaker's office, greeting family and friends, including her great-grandson.

She has been a constant presence, not just at the Roundhouse, but at all of her husband's rallies and parades and public events over so many years, including when Luján was a Santa Fe County commissioner.

She was all smiles, oozing confidence against the health struggle the family faces. She said prayers and family and friends from the Roundhouse keep her going, and that she and her husband get strength from one another.

"You get to know everyone, and they just become your family," she said. "Even those that have been gone for a while, they come back and it's like family."

Luján echoed those thoughts in remarks to the House, which were much shorter and in a quieter voice than in days past. And, he said, he's taking things one day at a time.

"We recognize that we are here today, for sure," he said. "And we don't know if we are here tomorrow."

Steve Terrell contributed to this report.

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com.