Pick something that gives Bowling Green its singular character in the region, and chances are you’ll learn that Whayne Priest Jr. had a hand in its development.

Priest, an attorney who co-founded the English Lucas Priest and Owsley law firm, died on Friday at his home at age 87.

A Hartford native who earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Kentucky, Priest settled in Bowling Green in 1965, and spent decades leaving his mark on his colleagues and the broader community.

Attorney Charles “Buzz” English, who practices at the firm his father co-founded with Priest, said that he spent a lot of time picking Priest’s brain for advice on how to handle any number of legal matters that came his way.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone into his office and just talked with him about ‘what about this case, what about this issue, how should we handle this,’ ” English said. “His intellectual acumen was just so high … Whayne had a mind and a memory and analytical ability that was just second to none.”

Priest spent eight years as city attorney, providing legal advice to the city commission.

His expertise was also crucial in the development of the Kentucky Transpark, serving for 15 years on the board of the massive industrial hub’s Inter-Modal Transportation Authority.

“Whayne was the original legal counsel for the Transpark, he was very instrumental in getting it up and going,” English said. “A lot of people don’t recall this, but there was significant opposition to the Transpark originally, and Whayne was very much involved in working with the Transpark and getting it up and going through acquisitions of property. He was there from the get-go.”

Priest also served on the board of Friends of Lost River Cave for 10 years, and received the Spirit of Lost River Volunteer Award in 2003, for providing invaluable contributions toward protecting and preserving the cave and the surrounding land as a local attraction.

Soon after arriving in Bowling Green, Priest joined the Bowling Green-Warren County Jaycees and began a lifetime of what English described as being a “moving, shaking force of a lot that was good about this city.”

Priest was past president of the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association and attained leadership positions in a number of other legal organizations.

He remained devoted to the University of Kentucky throughout his life, and English said Priest’s grilled pork loin sandwiches made his tailgate outside UK football games a popular stop.

When English was fresh out of law school and working with other then-new attorneys at coaching a mock trial team of local students, Priest lent his van to use on trips to competitions.

“He lived life large, he was always fun to be around and was one of the most generous persons I’ve ever come across,” English said. “He was supportive in any and everything we wanted to do.”