A humble man, a witty conversationalist, a great lawyer and an occasionally insufferable fan of University of North Carolina basketball -- that's the way Ed Natt's friends and colleagues described him Thursday.

Edward Allen Natt, 64, died Tuesday, 21 months after learning he had cancer. One of Roanoke's most prominent lawyers, he was regarded as among Southwest Virginia's best land-use experts, served as Roanoke County's first county attorney and helped write its zoning laws.

But beyond his lifetime of accomplishments, his colleagues also remembered him as a gifted athlete, caring volunteer and great friend.

"Ed was a very outgoing guy who very rarely met somebody who was a stranger," said Judge Steven Agee of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, who was a law partner of Natt's for 20 years. "He had an ability to make everyone feel they were being treated respectfully, even if they were on opposite legal sides."

"He was a wonderful lawyer -- one of the premier land-use lawyers in this area," lawyer Maryellen Goodlatte said. "He was smart, capable, and just a witty, humble, super person. He was a salt-of-the-earth guy, and he will be missed."

Natt, a lifelong Roanoker, earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1967 and then a law degree from the University of Richmond. He returned to Roanoke, served briefly as an assistant city attorney and then as the county attorney before he and several colleagues founded their own law firm, Osterhoudt, Ferguson, Natt, Aheron and Agee. The firm is now known as Osterhoudt, Prillaman, Natt, Helscher, Yost, Maxwell & Ferguson.

Natt also coached boys basketball for 30 years and took an active role in civic organizations and church. He golfed avidly and took the game seriously.

"He was a real competitive person -- he didn't like to lose," law partner Mike Ferguson said. "But if he did lose, he would be very congenial. As a golfer, Ed always made up a lot of rules that no one else could understand."

Ferguson said Natt was passionate about North Carolina basketball. "Some days after a big win, it could be very hard to live with Ed. But after a loss, he always had an appropriate excuse."

Added Agee: "He was a fairly obnoxious Carolina basketball fan."

Above all, though, said Agee, "He was a great friend, somebody you were proud to be associated with."

A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens.