Details released for Lindsey Graham memorial services in DC and SC

COLUMBIA — Funeral services in Washington for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham will be closed to the public, but people are invited to pay their respects during a procession and service in South Carolina.

A short ceremony July 28 inside the U.S. Capitol, which the public can watch via livestream, will be followed by an invitation-only funeral service at 2 p.m. inside the Washington National Cathedral, the senator’s office announced Tuesday.

Participants in the tribute at the Episcopal church will include President Donald Trump. That service can be watched on a YouTube page for the memorial. Graham’s remains will be flown to South Carolina that evening, according to the released details.

Graham died late July 11 at age 71 from a ruptured aorta, according to preliminary findings from the medical examiner’s office in Washington. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott said last week that funeral arrangements were further complicated by world leaders wanting to attend.

Services in Columbia will start at roughly 10:45 a.m. July 29 with the State Guard caisson team carrying his remains from the south side of Statehouse grounds to the north steps (the front). A pause in the presentation will be followed by a F-16 flyover of jets from McEntire Joint National Guard Base.

The caisson will then proceed up Main Street to First Baptist Church, about a half mile away. The seating for the service there is first-come, first-served.

The sanctuary holds 3,400 people. An overflow area will be provided, if necessary, the church’s minister of music told the SC Daily Gazette.

While Graham, who lived in Seneca and Washington, was not a member of the historic church in Columbia, he regularly attended events, said the Rev. Steve Phillips.

That included the Carolina Celebration of Liberty, an Independence Day “patriotic extravaganza” with the choir and orchestra.

“I love coming here,” he said at the 39th annual celebration July Fourth.

“This is like the highlight of the year for me to come to this service with my family to remind me what our country’s about through Baptists who can sing and dance,” he continued with his characteristic humor. “And to those who say Baptists cannot sing and dance, come here, you’ll be proven wrong.”

Graham attributed that sense of humor to his dad and a “gregarious” upbringing. He grew up in Central, a mill town near Clemson, in the back room of a restaurant and pool hall owned by his parents. Tragedy struck while he was at the University of South Carolina, as both of his parents died 15 months apart.

His political career began at the Statehouse. After winning a state House seat in 1992, he was elected to the U.S. House in 1994 and then the U.S. Senate in 2002. He easily won the GOP nomination last month in his bid for a fifth term.

Details of the service at First Baptist are underway. It will be both a “fitting tribute” to Graham and comfort for his family, Phillips said.

The funeral service in his native Pickens County later July 29 will be a private family burial.

In Washington, a military honor unit will carry Graham’s remains into the Rotunda ahead of the ceremony, in recognition of his decades of service in the Air Force.

In all, he served in the U.S. Air Force for 33 years, more than six of those on active duty as a lawyer. He joined the Air National Guard in 1989.

SC governor appoints Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister to fulfill his term

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said a special ceremony inside the Capitol is a fitting way for his friends and colleagues to say their final goodbyes.

“For so many of us in the Senate and the House, myself included, Lindsey was more than a colleague, he was a friend,” the South Dakota Republican said in a statement. “From the military to state politics to decades of representing South Carolinians in Congress, Lindsey dedicated his life to giving back through public service.”

His sister, Darline Graham, was sworn in last Tuesday as Gov. Henry McMaster’s appointee to fulfill her brother’s fourth term, which expires in January. She and her husband, Larry Nordone, live in Lexington.

South Carolina’s newest senator said Monday she’s decided to join the race to replace her brother on November ballots as the GOP nominee for the next six-year term. Her decision followed Trump urging her to jump in with a pre-filing endorsement. Filing for the special GOP primary open

In the announcement of memorial details, she thanked people in Washington and Columbia for “going above and beyond to ensure these will be honorable tributes to Lindsey.”

“I am grateful to all those who have come together to help honor and remember Lindsey,” she said in a statement.