Several hundred people turned out on Nov. 18 to salute one of Dorchester’s most celebrated leaders of the last half-century: Jim Hunt, Jr., who officially retired this year as executive director of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.

Hunt, 72, achieved hero status not just here in our neighborhood or in the Commonwealth, but also across the country for his stewardship of the community health center movement. In partnership with the late Senator Ted Kennedy, Hunt can rightly be counted as one of the nation’s central figures in the expansion and long-term viability of health centers.

Gov. Baker was among the dignitaries who saluted Hunt at the Seaport Hotel dinner, which was emceed by Karen Ward Holmes of WCVB-TV and Michael Curry, Hunt’s longtime lieutenant at the Mass League who now serves as his successor. A flurry of videos offering praise of the Dorchester native flashed across the video screens from both Massachusetts senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, along with a bevy of state and federal lawmakers.

The most poignant remarks of the evening came from Jim Hunt’s three sons— Jim Hunt, III, state Rep. Daniel Hunt, and Peter Hunt—who each recounted how their dad’s devotion to public service and caring for society’s less fortunate remains a constant source of inspiration to them.

There were scores of VIP guests on hand to salute Jim Sr., but none more important than his wife, Jean Costigan Hunt. It was she who truly sent Jim forth on what would become his life’s work. A registered nurse who until recently worked regular shifts at Boston Medical Center, Jean was an early advocate of the need for community health centers in Dorchester. As a couple, they were key leaders in the creation of the Neponset Health Center, now named in part for their close friend, Daniel Driscoll.

And when Jim and Jean were faced with taking a major cut in pay for Jim to leave his “safe” job as a staffer in the late Mayor Kevin White’s City Hall, it was Jean who urged her spouse to leap headlong into the health center movement. “I’ll just work an extra day at the hospital,” she said, as recounted by Jim.

That decision proved to be a momentous one for far beyond Dorchester’s wards and precincts. Jim, who was once a candidate for state rep himself, had a deft political touch. He was adept at luring state and federal aid into the cause of building out health infrastructure across the state. And his expert advice on how to balance the demands of limited finances with the urgent needs of the low-income communities chiefly served by CHCs has been vital to keeping these facilities open and responsive to emerging needs, including the current pandemic.

We’re thankful that Jim and Jean Hunt chose to devote their lives to the greater good.