Former state Sen. John Garwood, a staunch supporter of education, died Tuesday.  He was 78. In October, he was given a diagnosis of esophageal cancer.

Ironically, it was a vote that he didn’t cast that both marked and probably ended his political career.  A Republican, Garwood didn’t cast a vote in the lottery issue, but his absence helped it pass in 2005 and led to his political defeat in May 2006 when he sought re-election to the Senate seat he had held for 10 years.