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Edited on Mon Dec-15-03 11:21 AM by Padraig18
I was asked last evening to provide a first-hand account of Paul Simon's funeral service, which Tony and I attended; I tape-recorded the event, and have done my best to distill the essence of that two hour-long service. I hope my efforts will convey to all of you who could not attend the sense of what it was like to be there.
Paul planned his own funeral just last year, detailing his wishes in a letter to Dick Durbin and to his son and daughter, Martin and Sheila: it should have religious and ethnic diversity, good choral music, and a plain pine casket with his grandchildren's art on it. There were to be no huge floral displays. He was to be buried privately next to his first wife, Jeanne, in the cemetery next to the small Lutheran church where his father last pastored, and where he and his mother were also buried. The funeral should talk about how people can improve the world, instead of praising his deeds. It should be a celebration of life and of hope, rather than a time of mourning and despair, he wrote.
They did it just as you asked, Paul. :) Close to 15,000 mourners filled the SIU Arena Sunday afternoon where they were treated to the life and times of Paul Simon as seen by his friends, staff, colleagues and family.
We entered to the strains of a violin, with Paul's plain pine casket very simply adorned with a folded American flag, some of his grandchildren's artwork and a photo of his family. We left to the sounds of Beethoven's choral symphony, "Ode to Joy," and "God Bless America" performed by the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
In between, were prayers and eulogies, many with humor that brought laughter from the audience. But most ended with the speakers' voices cracking in the sadness of final loss.
The first to speak was former Sen. Allan Simpson(R-WY), Simon's best friend in the Senate; his voice quavering with emotion, he eulogized Paul saying, "God, we always knew that one unknown day you would gather him back to you, though we could never have imagined that it would be so soon. We thank you for him, and for the blessing his life was. I have lost a dear friend, and America has lost a great patriot and a tireless, eloquent voice for peace, common decency and social justice. God rest his soul, and comfort us in our loss."
The next speaker was Abner Mikva, a fellow lawmaker with Simon and a former federal appellate court judge also renowned for his probity, noted that Simon performed his last endorsement -- of Vermont governor and Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean -- from his hospital bed only days before he died. Mikva said Simon's endorsement was one of the most sought after in Illinois, because it was "the badge of clean politics." Mikva noted Simon's inevitable greeting of those he met. "'How are you,' he would ask in that booming stentorian voice. Everyone knew he was asking about them, and not just to be polite, but because he truly cared" Mikva said. "Rest easy, my old friend, we will always miss you."
A teary-eyed Sen. Dick Durbin spoke next, and remembered Paul this way: "Paul, here we are again as we've been so many times before, at a great Simon rally in Southern Illinois. All your friends are here and, you know, turnout's awfully darn good, especially with this weather" Durbin said wistfully as he gazed out at the audience of 15,000. "But this time, Paul, we're not here to cheer you on to send us out to fight our battles. This time you're sending us out; we know what you wanted us to do, and we intend to do it." Noting that the strongest oath anyone could remember Paul speaking was an oocasional "By George!", Sen. Durbin said, "By George, you were a good man, Paul Simon, and we are better for having known you."
Attorney General Lisa Madigan said, "Whether he was meeting in a board room in Chicago, questioning a witness at a hearing in the U.S. Senate, talking with a group of farmers in Decatur or a group of coal miners in West Frankfort or pounding out one of his columns on his old Underwood manual typewriter at home, Paul Simon was always on the side of ordinary working people. No other option ever crossed his mind."
Governor Rod Balgoevich remarked, "When I think of good government, clean government, high ideals and strong ethics, the first person in Illinois that I think about is Paul Simon. When I was being attacked in my run for governor last year, Paul spoke out and told the people of Illinois that the things my opponent was saying about me simply weren't true. So great was his credibility and so rock-solid his reputation with the voters of this State that my numbers in the polls rose by 10% within 72 hours of his making that statement. I said it to him then, and I will say it again today--- thank you, Paul; no one could ever have a better friend than I did in you."
Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) also spoke briefly: "While people may have disagreed with Senator Simon's policy positions on a variety of issues, absolutely no one ever questioned his ethics and integrity. He was the conscience of the US Senate for 12 years, and many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who served with him still speak of him with deep affection and a respect that borders on reverence. Goodbye, Paul--- you were truly one of our best, a public servant in every sense of the word."
Although unable to attend because of bad weather in New York, President Clinton wrote a letter remembering Paul which was read by Sen. Edward Kennedy, who he asked to represent him at the funeral:
"I'm so sorry that weather prevented me from being with you and all of Paul's friends today. Hillary and I liked and admired Paul so much and we will always be grateful for his friendship and support. He was without question one of the most remarkable public servants I ever knew. He was a reformer without sanctimony, an idealist without naivete and a realist without cynicism. He was a fiscal conservative who thought that we, and not our grandchildren, should pay to advance social justice and quality of opportunity in this country.
He was a serious man who could easily laugh at himself and his own shortcomings. He once joked that he had a face that was made for radio, but it is his smile that will linger in the hearts of all of us who ever knew him. I don't know how many bow ties there are in heaven, but I know that there is one more than there used to be. May Paul Simon, American patriot, always light our way. Goodbye, my old friend, and Godspeed."
Sen. Edward Kennedy was the main eulogist, and he spoke for about 20 minutes. Speaking in his familiar East Coast accent, Kennedy said he met Simon nearly 30 years ago when he traveled to Southern Illinois to campaign for the Makanda Democrat during his first run for Congress. However, Kennedy said his association with Simon grew during his unsuccessful bid for the White House in 1980.
"That's when I really got to know Paul Simon, during the early presidential primaries when the good voters of Illinois had the good sense to tell me in no uncertain terms to stick to the Senate," Kennedy said. "Paul disagreed and I loved him for it. He did an an impressive job at the time and he proved that you didn't have to be from Massachusetts to be a liberal."
Kennedy said he learned firsthand during the 1980 campaign about the passion Simon displayed when he believed in a campaign or a candidate. "He went all-out for me in that campaign, and then some, and I will never forget it; I had members of my staff tell me that they gave up before Paul Simon did. That says it all about Paul -- he listened to his inner voice and he always had perfect pitch."
Calling him "a perfect blend of idealism and grassroots politics" Sen. Kennedy stressed that Simon was far from a typical politician. "Actually, he couldn't have cared less about the games of politics and that's why he was so successful at politics," Kennedy said. "He cared about the game of life; ordinary people saw how much he truly cared and that's why they kept sending him back for more."
Kennedy related a comment made by Simon during Senate confirmation hearings when Clarence Thomas was a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. "During the hearing the nominee (Thomas) mentioned that when he was young he thought he could change the world," Kennedy said. "Paul Simon responded that 'some of us still think we can.' In a sense he was a one-man band beating the drums for the issues that he cared about. He understood the importance of connecting directly with the people he served."
Kennedy closed his remarks by using a quote used by his late brother Robert, when he was addressing students in Cape Town, South Africa in 1966: "Robert Kennedy said 'Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence, yet it is the one essential quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change'; Paul Simon had that quality of moral courage in abundance. In another era he would have been one of the Founding Father, he was that good. He will never be forgotten" Sen. Kennedy said, his voice breaking and tears visible on his cheeks.
The final speaker was Paul's son, Martin, and he spoke of Paul Simon the father and husband, a side the intensely-private Paul Simon rarely permitted anyone to witness:
"What no one but Patti, my sister and I could tell all of you here today, is to tell what a good dad and excellent husband he was. That was a side of him that only we knew. He didn't teach us how to be good people, he showed us by example. He didn't stifle us with tons of firm rules, he gave us the freedom to find our own paths; even though I'm just a photographer, he was always proud of me, and he always let me know that in no uncertain terms. 'We all need love and approval, Marty', my dad said many times, 'so never just assume that your children, your wife or your friends know that already--- be sure and tell them, and do it often'....
My father was a very warm and loving man, and he stood out as a good husband; after he married Patti following Mom's death, he told Sheila and I that he must be the luckiest guy in the world, because he had had the privilege or pure, blind luck to have been married to the two finest women he had ever met--- Mom and Patti, but if you ever saw him with our Mom or Patti, you knew that it was they who felt themsleves to be the luckier half of the pair. See, I told you so, Patti's nodding up a storm (pointing), and I know Mom would be, too. (laughter and applause).
Stepping down from the podium, Martin placed his hand tenderly on his father's casket and stroked it fondly, saying, "We're going to miss you, dad. We love you, and it's knowing how much you loved us too that has enabled us all to endure what we had always imagined would be unendurable. I know I speak for everyone here today when I say 'Well done, our good and faithful servant; you have run the course, you have kept the faith, and the victory is yours.'" :) Edit: forgot the photos the first time.
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