HARTFORD, Conn. — Funeral services for the late Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell were held Tuesday.
Rell, a mother of two and grandmother of four, died on Nov. 21 at a Florida hospital following a brief illness, according to her family. She was 78.
Tuesday morning, Rell lay in state at the Connecticut State Capitol, located at 210 Capitol Ave. in Hartford. The public was invited to pay tribute.
In the afternoon, a mass of Christian burial then took place at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, located at 140 Farmington Ave. in Hartford.
Alvin and Nancy Ravizza had only met Rell once, years ago at a Christmas tour of her official residence, but they decided to join the stream of other state residents, dignitaries and state Capitol insiders who paid tribute to the late Republican governor.
The couple from Berlin last visited the Capitol building when former Democratic Gov. Ella Grasso also lay in state in 1981. They said they still appreciate how Rell took control of Connecticut in 2004 after her predecessor resigned amid a corruption scandal that had rocked the state.
“She healed our state, being governor,” Nancy Ravizza said. “That’s my memory of her.”
“Truly a good woman," Alvin Ravizza said. "That's why we're here."
The state's second female governor — Grasso was the first — Rell served from 2004 to 2011. She previously served as a state representative and then as lieutenant governor from 1995 to 2004, at which point her running mate former Gov. John G. Rowland left office amid a federal investigation and possible impeachment. He ultimately pleaded guilty to a single federal corruption count and served 10 months in prison.
Days after her first swearing-in ceremony, nearly 1,000 well-wishers turned out to greet Rell at the state Capitol during an open house.
At Tuesday's service, Mike Rell spoke on what his mother meant to him.
"I think to the residents of the state of Connecticut at the time, she was everybody’s mother. She came in with a gentle hand and said it will be alright, we can take care of this," Mike Rell said. "There will be some bumps along the way, but as any mother does, she brings people together to be able to work out everyone’s differences and console the state and that’s exactly what she did at the right time."
He added, "She knew exactly when to retire. She could have stayed on for a while but because she had a growing family with four young grandchildren, that’s who she was. She was a mother, and she was a grandmother, and she adored her grandkids, sometimes more than her own kids, but that’s what all grandmothers do."
Scott Guilmartin, a friend of Jodi Rell's, said, "she had a sense of humor. She had a great smile. It's all positives. There's nothing negative I can think of when I think of her."
Republicans and Democrats fondly remembered Rell as a special breed of politician in today's world of division and derision — a kind, compassionate person who could be stern when necessary but was willing to work with the other side of the political spectrum.
“At her core, Jodi Rell was a respectful person of integrity who wanted to do her best for the people of Connecticut, and she was willing to work with Democrats, independents and Republicans," said former state Sen. Donald Williams, a Democrat. “And that’s why we had such a great working relationship, even though we disagreed on some issues.”
“I miss that era in our politics,” he added. “And I’m hoping we can get back to that.”
In a sign of Jodi Rell's penchant for bipartisanship, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont delivered one of four eulogies during an afternoon memorial service at Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, where Jodi Rell's coffin arrived draped in a blue Connecticut state flag. Lamont said he and Jodi Rell became good friends after he took office and would appear together at the governor's residence to greet the public during the holidays.
“She had been out of office for 10, 12 years; people would greet her like they’d just seen her last week,” Lamont said. “I remember her always saying, ‘Oh, come on, just call me Jodi.’”
Former Republican Secretary of the State Pauline Kezer, who served together with Jodi Rell in the state House of Representatives, called her former colleague a “trailblazer” who took office under “tough circumstances" and successfully restored people's confidence in state government.
“She governed with calmness and firmness, which are two hard things to put together,” she said.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said Jodi Rell was a "trailblazer for women in politics," and was a "lovely, kind person" with a "great sense of humor."
She said Jodi Rell also had the gift of being “relatable," someone who often talked about shopping at the discount department store Marshalls. Her German shepherd was even named Marshall.
“She’s just a person that if you saw her at the grocery store or standing in line at Marshalls that you’d want to talk to,” Bysiewicz said. “And she is somebody that everyone respected.”
Republican State Rep. Vincent Candelora, House Minority Leader, said it was "very important to [Jodi Rell] to clean up government" and that "she wanted to restore people's faith in government."
"We just don't operate like other states do, and I think it really was the example that Gov. Rell started back then and has continued on," Candelora said.
State Rep. John Piscopo, R-Thomaston, said "we should use Jodi Rell as an example of how we should work together."
"She showed me how to read bills, how to do my homework, how to introduce my first amendment. I loved Jodi Rell," Piscopo said.
Brian Anderson, a former union lobbyist, said that she "would be a good role model for people to reflect on."
"Jodi could be your opponent and be kind and respectful and actually listen and maybe just maybe you could change her position a bit and I think we need more of that today," Anderson said. "We used to joke. She voted against a lot of my bills. We were often opposite sides. But she always listened and quite often she was part of creative really good compromises."
A private interment ceremony will occur at the Connecticut State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown at a date to be determined, where she will be buried alongside her husband Lou Rell, a U.S. Navy veteran.
Rell's son Michael said in a statement after her death, "Rell was Connecticut's 87th Governor serving from 2004 until 2011. She was only the second female governor in state history. She also served as Lieutenant Governor for ten years and as a member of the state House of Representatives for ten years, representing Brookfield and Bethel."
Multiple Connecticut leaders have praised Rell, recognizing her leadership and dedication to bipartisanship as a Republican governor. Their full statements can be read here.
More information about Rell's legacy can be found here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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