Today was the memorial service for former Vice President Walter Mondale. Fiz Mondale died last year on April 19th at the age of 93. The service was held at the University of Minnesota’s Northrop Auditorium, which is not a very big auditorium. It was a private event and not a public lying in state, so basically family and friends, but those friends were some very big VIPs and basically a who’s who of Minnesota politics. Only one of the local Minnesota television stations had the memorial service live, but the others streamed it.
“We told the truth. We obeyed the law. We kept the peace” – Mondale
The speaking lineup:
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
Joan Gabel, University of Minnesota President
Larry Jacobs, Humphrey School of Public Affairs Professor (and one of my former professors in election administration)
Rev. Tim Hart-Andersen of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis
Senator Tina Smith
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Jon Meacham, presidential historian (everyone’s favorite historian and he also spoke at George and Barbara Bush’s funerals)
President Joe Biden
Ted and William Mondale, Mondale’s sons
Lillian Hochman singing ‘Tomorrow’ from Annie
The UMN Marching Band paying the ‘Minnesota Rouser’ fight song
(Images from https://umf.formstack.com/forms/wfmmemorial_landing and https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/live/)
