Charlie Baker takes his leave from state government this week, and from this vantage point, it’s fair to say that the Baker years will be most warmly remembered for this governor’s steady, effective leadership through the worst public health crisis in a century, the Covid pandemic.

When Baker makes the traditional “lone walk” from the executive wing to the State House’s seldom-used front entrance on Wednesday afternoon, he might be forgiven for experiencing a wistful sense of nostalgia for a building he has called his office – off and on – for three decades. And he should be buoyed by the fact that public polling has consistently found him among the most highly regarded governors in the country, and the most well-liked politician in Massachusetts.

It says something truly rotten about the Massachusetts Republican Party that— despite those remarkable distinctions — Baker was vilified by his own rank-and-file GOP members, particularly in his final two years in office. It’s their loss, but it must be said: It’s the Commonwealth’s loss as well. Baker is a fundamentally good person whose inclination to serve in government and, thus, to eschew a more lucrative private career should not be dismissed out of hand. His calm, respectful tone toward colleagues on both sides of the aisle has been a refreshing counterpoint to the toxic, unhinged, and dysfunctional behavior personified in its most twisted form by the now-ex-president.

There’s room for less charitable critiques of the Baker years— and this space has chimed in on those weak spots, particular when it comes to public transportation and the deferred maintenance along Dorchester’s coastal roads, which must be priorities for the next administration.

But, in a broad sense, Baker acquitted himself well as a chief executive who brought a moderate’s temperament and cooperative spirit to governing. A skeptic might say that a Republican moderate operating in deep-blue Massachusetts had very little choice in the matter. It’s sometimes forgotten that Baker failed in his first attempt to become governor, losing to incumbent Democrat Deval Patrick in 2010. Like many life lessons that end in defeat, that loss was instructive and, ultimately, led to improvements.

The Charlie Baker who eventually won the corner office— and held it with superlative popular support for eight years— was a different candidate and leader— with a winning style that made him likeable and respected. And to his unending credit, Baker bucked his party’s national trend and descent into madness, while overseeing an impressive period of economic stability, despite the disruptions and upheaval of Covid.

As the State House News Service put it this week: “Baker's two terms as governor saw the state budget shift from a structural deficit to a surplus so large that the state by law had to give nearly $3 billion back to taxpayers. He managed the state through the first pandemic in a century, holding nearly-daily briefings on a virus that few people understood and promoting vaccinations that have helped the economy rebound.”

Finally, a word about his family. The never-ending pressures and pace of a life devoted to the public good can be a tough burden on the home front— and the Bakers experienced that early and often, particularly through the excesses of protests and trespassers who made their way to their front door. We owe Charlie and Lauren Baker— and their kids— a collective salute of thanks this week. May their next chapter bring them good health, success, and much happiness.