SMYRNA — After four decades as a legislator, in addition to being so much more, Sen. Bruce C. Ennis, D-Smyrna, plans to leave his seat open for someone else.

Sen. Ennis, 82, announced Thursday that he’s stepping down when his term ends in November to spend more time with his family, including two daughters and two granddaughters.

“I just felt like it was time to step away and give someone else an opportunity, while I can spend some more time with my family,” the lifelong Smyrna resident said Friday.

Generally speaking, he said he hopes his successor “will listen to the concerns of his or her constituents and address them, along with trying to address the statewide issues, as well.”

There’s plenty of work to do in the next eight months or so, and Sen. Ennis said he’s focused on increasing annual tax credits for volunteer firefighters from $500 to $1,000, hoping to assist with recruiting and retention in a service that is increasingly challenged by dropping memberships.

Then, there’s pending Senate Bill 14, which would increase pension benefits to retired state employees, judges and some Delaware State Police troopers. Sen. Ennis noted that he’s not personally part of any of those pensions.

Also, the senator said, there’s a need to decrease taxes on farm structures, such as barns, to boost the agricultural industry.

“There’s still a lot of work to do from now until November, I know that,” he said.

While Sen. Ennis said he’ll miss the camaraderie he’s witnessed among lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican, over his 40 years in office, he’s also troubled by the growing political divide throughout the nation and in the First State.

“It’s just hard to get people to agree on anything these days, and that’s too bad for everyone, I think,” he said.

Sen. Ennis said in his Thursday announcement that “serving in the Delaware General Assembly has been a great privilege and honor that I will cherish. Knowing that the people placed their faith in me to represent their interests in so many different ways, on so many important issues, is both humbling and gratifying.”

After graduating from John Bassett Moore High School, the future senator joined the Delaware Air National Guard, where he rose to the rank of sergeant, and spent 20 years as a Delaware State Police trooper, retiring in 1982 as a staff captain, the announcement said.

He is also a life member of Citizens’ Hose Co. of Smyrna, where he has served as chief and president and in numerous other administrative and line officer roles for 63 years.

He was first elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in 1982, when he succeeded the late Robert W. Riddagh, a former speaker of the House. He won reelection to that seat 12 times. He then transitioned to the Senate after winning a 2007 special election to succeed the late James T. Vaughn Sr., the announcement said.

Sen. Ennis was reelected to the 14th District Senate seat four times.

Widely regarded as one of the General Assembly’s strongest advocates for first responders, veterans and state pensioners, Sen. Ennis had a central role in the creation of Delaware’s modern emergency response and statewide paramedic systems, the announcement said.

He also sponsored legislation that instituted an inclusive statewide trauma system, improved Delaware’s emergency medical services, upgraded emergency communications, initiated the state’s Gold Alert system, placed flashing lights on the back of school buses and many more livesaving measures, the statement added.

The senator has also been a steadfast champion for Delaware’s open spaces, farm families, manufactured-housing residents, outdoorspeople and horse-racing industry, according to the announcement.

“Bruce Ennis is one of the most honorable and kindhearted people I have had the honor to serve alongside here in the Delaware General Assembly,” Senate President Pro Tempore David Sokola, D-Newark, said.

“His generosity and dedication to his constituents are as legendary in this building as his unwavering commitment to the public and the small-town way of life he has worked so hard to preserve in Kent County.”

Sen. Nicole Poore, D-New Castle, said Sen. Ennis will be deeply missed by his colleagues and the people of Delaware alike.

“Bruce is a friend to all, regardless of party affiliation or address,” she said.

“What he cares about is you as a person, is your family well and what he can do to help. His retirement will be a loss to all of us who have come to depend on his advice and guidance, but (it’s) a well-deserved reward for him and his family.”