USA TODAY International Edition
Dingell remembered for dignity, service
DEARBORN, Mich. – Mourners from across metro Detroit and the political spectrum gathered Tuesday to pay their respects to former Democratic Rep. John Dingell, the longest-serving member of Congress.
The funeral, scheduled to start at 11a.m., was delayed 30 minutes because of weather.
Former Vice President Joe Biden was among those who eulogized Dingell, known as “Big John” or “the Truck” because of his imposing stature, at Church of the Divine Child.
Biden said Dingell, who died Thursday at the age of 92 after a battle with cancer, “led with great moral courage and vision” during his more than 59 years in Congress.
One word best describes Dingell, Biden said: dignity.
“Dignity was how John walked, how John talked, how he carried himself and how he treated everyone,” Biden said.
Other politicians who were scheduled to speak included U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Dingell’s longtime friend Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., but they were on planes that had to turn around because ice-slick runways kept them from landing.
A second service will be held Thursday in Washington, where former President Bill Clinton, former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner of Ohio and U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., will speak at a Mass at Holy Trinity Church.
Dingell is to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
He helped craft and pass many consequential measures while in the House of Representatives, including Medicare, the Civil Rights Act and the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts and the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., summed up Dingell’s tenure Tuesday morning: “He fought hard but was able to compromise,” she said. “In order to work across the aisle, you have to be able to trust the other person. People trusted his word.”
Dingell retired from the House in 2015; his wife, Debbie, replaced him after winning his seat in a 2014 election.
Throughout his career, he remained an advocate of Michigan manufacturing, the state’s signature auto industry and its natural resources.
Born on July 8, 1926, in Colorado Springs, Dingell spent many of his formative years in Washington.
His father, John Dingell Sr., who had ties to organized labor, moved the family to Detroit and won election to a newly created congressional district in 1933.
After the war, Dingell entered private practice in Detroit before joining the staff of U.S. Circuit Judge Theodore Levin. He became an assistant prosecuting attorney for Wayne County.
After his father died in 1955, Dingell was elected to replace him. He was 29.
Dingell’s funeral service was filled with those who had worked with him over the years.
Catherine Daligga, a member of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party, came to the funeral despite a steady, icy rain. “He was gracious and approachable,” she said.