WASHINGTON -- Ralph S. Regula, a congenial gentleman farmer from the Canton area who channeled reams of federal money to Northeast Ohio during a 36-year congressional career, has died. He was 92 years old.

"He was a remarkable man whose tenure spanned seven United States presidents," U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci said in a statement Thursday. Renacci succeeded him in Ohio's 16th District.

Born in Beach City, Ohio, to O.F and Orpha Regula, he spent two years in the U.S. Navy during World War II before obtaining a bachelor's degree in business administration from Mount Union College and a law degree from the William McKinley School of Law.

After stints as a teacher, school administrator, attorney, state legislator, and Ohio Board of Education member, Regula, a Republican, found his long-term public service niche upon his 1972 election to the U.S. House of Representatives. As obstruction and theatrics took over Congress, Regula maintained a low-key style and distaste for political gamesmanship.

"Inflammatory rhetoric may satisfy the partisans, but it does little or nothing to move the legislative ball to the goal line," Regula opined in a 2010 Plain Dealer column bemoaning legislative gridlock and advocating bipartisan compromise.

The district Regula represented before his 2009 retirement included all of Stark and Wayne counties and parts of Ashland and Medina counties. But all Northeast Ohio benefited from the many millions of federal dollars he steered to the region.

Heavy heart today with the news of the passing of my friend, colleague and mentor, Congressman Regula pic.twitter.com/SL6YHCN0QG — Rep. Jim Renacci (@RepJimRenacci) July 20, 2017

He used his House Appropriations Committee seniority to secure large grants for medical and research institutions including Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University. He earmarked millions of dollars to fight zebra mussels invading the Great Lakes, and played a key role in creating the Ohio and Erie Canalway and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. He also channeled funds towards clean coal research, and was a founder of the Congressional Steel Caucus

On a national level, he protected the National Endowment for the Arts from conservative efforts to kill it, directed cleanup money to Florida's Everglades, and championed construction of a popular Children's Farm at the National Zoo in Washington D.C.

"He's been a great friend to Ohio and he's done a lot of really neat things for Ohio and the country," his former GOP colleague on the Appropriations Committee, David Hobson of Springfield, said in a floor speech marking Regula's retirement.

Although some of Regula's fellow Republicans seemed wary of his middle-of-the-road voting record and conservationist bent, he tried to assuage their concerns by noting President Ronald Reagan was also a rancher who shared his love for the land. He enjoyed displaying a letter Reagan sent him from the White House that illustrated how to build fences from discarded telephone poles.

Ralph Regula was a legend who worked tirelessly for Canton & NE Ohio. Fran and I extend our condolences to his wife, Mary, and his family. — Ohio AG Mike DeWine (@OhioAG) July 20, 2017

"I personally like land," Regula once said. "I cherish it and I think that we have an opportunity to leave a great legacy to future generations in the way we manage these resources."

Regula also prized the Capitol dome view in the prime office his seniority earned. Long before the prevalence of cell-phone "selfies," Regula routinely summoned congressional photographers to take portraits with his visitors and the U.S. Capitol panorama from his office window.

Regula was considered more liberal than some of his GOP colleagues, voting against a 1993 House bill that required minors to notify their parents before seeking an abortion, and fighting an earlier effort to ban federally funded clinics from distributing abortion information.

His reluctance to eliminate social welfare programs - or parlay his clout into campaign cash - ended up costing Regula the prized chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee and triggering his retirement, although it won him respect across party lines.

Toledo Democrat Marcy Kaptur, who served on the Appropriations Committee with Regula, described him as "talented, honest, understated, inspired and honorable," as well as the sort of "public official who should get recognition rather than these loudmouthed, egotistical blowhards."

She recalled his dedication to Ohio, his down-to-earth demeanor and his love for the shiny red pickup truck he drove around Capitol Hill.

"One time, I came down the hallway in the Rayburn Building and he was kind of coming out of his office," Kaptur recalled. "I said, 'Ralph, what's wrong?' and he had been kicked by a cow over the weekend. I guess he was kind of repairing himself there. I thought, 'Well, that's the first member I have met who was kicked by a cow."

Regula's desire for comity didn't spare him from farm injuries or policy clashes. He authored bills to cede the nation's capital back to Maryland over objections from that state's public officials, and used legislative technicalities to keep former President William McKinley's name on North America's tallest peak, despite Alaskan efforts to restore its Native American name. When President Barack Obama used a different technicality to rename the mountain "Denali" in 2015, Regula called him "a dictator."

Very sad news today about the passing of Ralph Regula. pic.twitter.com/OTZiwUvNA4 — Rep. Bob Gibbs (@RepBobGibbs) July 20, 2017

Because McKinley hailed from Regula's district, the congressman ardently defended the assassinated president's legacy and handed out red carnations to celebrate McKinley's birthday, in memory of the flower the former president wore on his lapel.

More significantly, Regula and his wife, Mary, spearheaded transformation of the home in Canton that McKinley shared with his wife, Ida, into the First Ladies' National Historic Site. Former First Lady Hillary Clinton called the facility an "extraordinary place" that's helped "preserve and document that ever-evolving legacy of women's contributions to our nation."

In a 2002 interview, Mary Regula attributed her husband's success to his even temper. The pair raised three children - Martha, Richard and David - as well as numerous Hereford cattle on their wooded 60-acre farm in Navarre.

"In all the years I've been married to him, I have never seen him angry or raise his voice," she said.

As a tribute to Regula, Western Reserve PBS (WNEO Youngstown/WEAO Cleveland-Akron-Canton) will air a new documentary RALPH REGULA: THE GENTLEMAN FROM OHIO on Saturday, July 22, at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Sunday, July 23, at 5 p.m.; and Tuesday, July 25, at 10 p.m, the station said.