Memorials for Lindsey Graham will be in Washington and SC

Memorials honoring the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham will be next week in the nation’s and state’s capitals, his office said Friday.

Graham’s life and legacy will be celebrated Tuesday in Washington. On Wednesday, there will memorials in both Columbia and his home county of Pickens, according to the news release.

It gave no further details. But the dates at least give people some indication of the timing.

Graham died late Saturday at age 71 in Washington of a rupture in his aorta due to cardiovascular disease, according to preliminary findings of the District of Columbia’s medical examiner.

His sister, Darline Graham, accepted Gov. Henry McMaster’s appointment to fulfill the remainder of her brother’s fourth term, which ends in January. She was sworn in Tuesday.

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

Voters will decide who replaces Lindsey Graham for the next six-year term. He soundly defeated five GOP competitors last month. A special GOP primary to replace him on November’s ballot is set for Aug. 11.

The siblings grew up in the Upstate town of Central, just 5 miles outside Clemson in Pickens County.

He rose from the boy behind the bar in his parents’ restaurant and pool hall to be one of the nation’s most influential senators.

He spent eight years in the U.S. House representing South Carolina’s 3rd District before his election to the U.S. Senate in 2002.

Throughout his tenure in Washington, he kept the South Carolina home in Seneca that he bought in 1993, the year before he first won election to Congress. Seneca is on the other side of Clemson, in Oconee County.

Complicating funeral arrangements, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott told reporters Wednesday, is that world leaders want to attend, The Post and Courier reported.

A memorial may be held at the National Cathedral, Scott said at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters.

Graham had just returned from a visit to Ukraine when he died. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among world leaders who mourned his death. Graham was a “true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post Sunday, noting he met with the senator twice during his 10th visit to the country.

Others included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” read his post Sunday on X.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.