Jun. 9—With voices cracking, many staff members and commissioners of the state Public Regulation Commission honored an employee Wednesday who died unexpectedly at 34.

Isaac Sullivan-Leshin had been at the commission only three years, but he made his mark, speakers said during the commission's weekly meetings. They described as extraordinary his efficiency, energy, politeness, patience, intelligence and willingness to pitch in.

Sullivan-Leshin died May 30 of an unknown cause at the home he shared with his father. The family is waiting for autopsy results, which aren't expected for weeks.

Showing a photo of Sullivan-Leshin with his dog, Lola, on his lap, the commission also held a minute of silence during the meeting, which was viewed by some of his relatives via Zoom.

The PRC promoted Sullivan-Leshin from paralegal to law clerk in January. PRC attorneys said he was overqualified for his job and were reluctant to encourage him to go to law school because if he took them up on it, that would most likely mean losing his services to the commission.

"He really almost became our fifth attorney at a time when we were short-staffed and still are short-staffed," said PRC lawyer Michael Smith. "He took on a lot of attorney tasks."

Commission attorney Joan Ellis said, "I can say to you, family and colleagues, that I am honored to speak about a man who was a rock, a good man, and who provided kindness and efficiency at the same time."

Ellis said to family members watching the tribute, "You raised a good man."

Sullivan-Leshin's work history and hobbies reflected a man with abundant interests. He had conducted river expeditions as a guide in Arizona and Utah, had been a paralegal for law offices and later served in human resources for one of those law firms.

He enjoyed cooking, hiking, history, talking about current events, reading and music. Although he worked in the PRC's Office of General Counsel, he helped people in the public connect to online meetings and disseminated, condensed and clarified information for commissioners.

The commission's Sarah Valencia said after the tribute Sullivan-Leshin also updated the commission's website, put the agenda together, ran workshops and, when she started working there in public relations, helped her understand the terminology, procedures, relevant statutes and how to find information.

She and many others on the staff said he kept his cool and remained patient. "He had people coming at him from every direction," Valencia said.

Speaking about his colleague, attorney Hans Muller quoted writer Maya Angelou as saying, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

His mother, Eileen Sullivan, said he was the main caretaker for his father, Larry Leshin, a retired attorney who has multiple sclerosis. His father found him deceased in their home.

Sullivan, a librarian, said her only child was precocious. A preschool monitor told her keeping watch over him took the energy needed to track three kids.

"It wasn't like a naughty energy," his mother said. On a children's trip to a fire station, his mother recalled, someone asked if they might see a firefighter slide down the pole. Isaac, a kindergartner at the time, responded, "Not anymore. Not since OSHA."

When he was about 13, he cooked a full dinner on his mother's birthday, she said, including appetizers, stuffed Cornish game hen and a triple-layer chocolate cake. "I was always amazed at his breadth of knowledge," she said.

He is survived by his mother, father and stepfather, Patrick Lyford, all of Albuquerque. His mother said she expected to have a celebration of her son's life in mid-July.

She said it was "healing and difficult" to hear about the impact he had on people. "I've been finding out things about my son in the last week that I didn't even know," she said.

"And I hurt because his life was cut short," she said. "But I also feel so incredibly grateful to have had him in my life for 34 years."