WASHINGTON -- Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska ended his four-decade congressional career Thursday, ushered out by his Senate colleagues with a dignity not shown by jurors in his corruption trial or by the voters in his home state, who declined to return him to Washington for an eight term.

His colleagues offered a 90-minute tribute to the Republican senator, whose mark on Alaska predates statehood but whose imprint on the Senate is just as legendary.

Few mentioned his conviction or loss in the elections, referring obliquely -- but regretfully -- to his setbacks. Their remarks came the day after Stevens conceded his Senate race to Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.

His colleagues described Stevens, 85, as a man whose history is intertwined with that of the state of Alaska. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, has been a senator since 1968. He chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee, and for two decades oversaw U.S. military spending. A legendary appropriator, he's best known for the billions of dollars in federal money he took home to Alaska.

''I think it is safe to say, without any fear of contradiction, that no senator in the history of the United States has ever done more for his state than Senator Ted Stevens,'' said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate minority leader. ``Alaska would not be what it is today were it not for him.''

Helping to achieve Alaska's potential as it transformed from an impoverished U.S. territory to a rich oil-producing state was his ''life's work,'' Stevens said.

''Where there was nothing but tundra and forest, today there are now airports, roads, ports, water and sewer systems, hospitals, clinics, communications networks, research labs and much, much more,'' he said. 'Mr. President, Alaska was not `Seward's Folly.' ``

Republican senators trickled into the Senate chambers just before Stevens began speaking at 11 a.m. Most of his Republican colleagues sat in on portions of the tribute, but only a small group of Democratic senators attended: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Stevens' closest friend in the Senate, Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.

During the tribute, Stevens' wife, Catherine, and his daughter Beth sat in the front row of the upper gallery, surrounded by nearly 100 friends and staffers. Dozens more crowded in the seats lining the Senate chambers.

As Stevens concluded his remarks, many in the gallery and all the senators and aides on the floor of the Senate offered a standing ovation. Many of his staffers and friends walked out of the Senate chambers with red-rimmed eyes, dabbing at their tears.

While they clapped, Stevens sat. Then he stood, shaking hands with the longest-serving U.S. senator in history, Byrd, and the top two leaders of the Senate, Reid and McConnell. Finally, Stevens embraced Inouye, whom he called ''his brother'' during his speech.

Reid made no mention of how he'd publicly called on Stevens to step down after his conviction, and had warned him that were he to return for another term, his felon status would prompt a move by his fellow senators to expel him from their midst.

Inouye acknowledged that the Alaska senator's recent history has been ''heartbreaking.'' However, that's done nothing to diminish their affection for each other, said Inouye, who testified as a character witness at Stevens' trial.

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