William L. Ruane, 56, chief deputy clerk in federal court

Mr. Ruane, a pitcher for Boston College in the 1970s and a Belmont High School Hall of Famer, worked for the First Circuit for 34 years.

He was “the model of the humble, invaluable public servant,’’ Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf said.

At the Moakley Courthouse Friday morning, shocked co-workers wept as they gathered to absorb the news, according to Mr. Ruane’s longtime co-worker Helen Costello, the operations manager.

“He was just a great guy. He was just a good person to talk to, very easygoing. He never got upset or angry. He was just a very calming influence around the office,’’ she said.

Mr. Ruane, who lived in Belmont where he grew up, was remembered as a devoted family man who made time to attend his son and daughters’ sporting events.

He had been released from the hospital a week ago after a stroke but suffered head pain and on Tuesday went to the emergency room, where he expressed disappointment over missing his daughter Kristen’s field hockey matches.

“He was mad. Belmont made the state tournament and first game was Wednesday. He said, ‘I’m so mad I’m going to miss that game,’ ’’ said his wife Kathleen (Connolly).

Mr. Ruane’s wife described her husband as a “honest, what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of person.’’

He loved traveling with his family and was a diehard Boston sports fan, always turning on the latest sports contest every night in his kitchen.

Mr. Ruane also was known for his quick wit, his wife said.

“His sense of humor would draw you in,’’ she said.

“There would be a whole room full of people and he’d be off to the side, taking it all in, and at the appropriate time he’d have that one line that he’d throw in there and everybody would just laugh.’’

They were married for 27 years.

They met through Kathleen’s sister Judy Dineen who began work at the federal court a few months after Mr. Ruane began in 1975.

“He was good-looking and athletic, just a gentle soul is how I would describe him, and I had a cute younger sister,’’ said Dineen of Duxbury.

She recalled the days when she and her sister would watch Mr. Ruane play on courthouse softball teams each summer.

Mr. Ruane was the youngest child of William and Dorothy (Jones).

He graduated from Belmont High School in 1971, where he played football and baseball.

He pitched a no-hitter against Wakefield High in 1971, and was inducted into the Belmont High Hall of Fame in 1993.

He went to Boston College on a four-year athletic scholarship and graduated with a degree in marketing in 1975.

He was named MVP of the Greater Boston College Baseball League in ’75.

In his early work at the federal courthouse, Mr. Ruane was the jury clerk.

He was promoted to deputy clerk in the late 1980s.

The chief clerk of the district court, Sarah Thornton, who took her post five years ago, said Mr. Ruane selflessly shared his knowledge of the federal court system with her when she first arrived.

“He was a quiet man, very unassuming. He never put himself into the limelight but always played a support role that was vital. He had a wonderful positive attitude,’’ she said.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Ruane leaves his sister Janet Trayers of Wellesley; brother, Robert of Glastonbury, Conn.; two daughters, Allison and Kristen of Belmont; and a son Matt, who is a junior at Bowdoin College.

A funeral service is planned for 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at the Church of St. Joseph’s in Belmont.

Burial will follow in Highland Meadow Cemetery in Belmont.