Tim Russert Memorialized by Politicians, Journalists

WASHINGTON — The crowd at Tim Russert’s funeral yesterday would have made a great panel on his Sunday morning news show. The two men vying to become president, senators Obama and McCain, were there, as were members of Congress, television journalists, and several generations of politicians from both parties.Messrs. Obama and McCain sat next to each other, per a request by the Russert family.“It is not easy to preach a homily for Tim and to communicate the feelings we all share concerning this remarkable man, for he was truly one of the great communicators in American society,” Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the archbishop emeritus of Washington, D.C., said in his homily.The host of the Sunday-morning talk show “Meet the Press” died Friday of a heart attack at the age of 58. A political insider, Russert was known for conducting tough interviews of Washington’s most powerfulpoliticians,yetheevoked an everyman quality that showed his blue-collar, Buffalo, N.Y., roots.Among the dignitaries present were Governor Cuomo, Mayor Bloomberg, the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.There were also enough television journalists and political strategists to fill several political roundtables. Among the honorary pallbearers were NBC News anchor Brian Williams, “Today” show host Matt Lauer, and Bryant Gumbel. Tom Brokaw, a retired anchor, greeted the guests, saying no house meant more to Russert than “the house of the Lord.”The funeral service at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Georgetown was private, but a loud speaker broadcast the service to about 100 onlookers standing along the tree-lined street. A man wearing a kilt played the bagpipes as the crowd arrived, and delivered a rendition of “Amazing Grace” as Russert’s casket was taken from the church.Russert’s 22-year-old son, Luke, gave the eulogy. His mother and Russert’s widow, Maureen Orth, looked on.“My dad was my best friend,” Luke Russert said, his voice strong and clear. “To explain my bond with my father is utterly impossible to put into words.” He said that whenever he did well on a school assignment, his father would yell, “Yahoo! You smoked ’em, buddy!” An invitation-only memorial service was scheduled at the Kennedy Center later yesterday.

Tim Russert Memorialized by Politicians, Journalists

Tim Russert Memorialized by Politicians, Journalists

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