Along procession route, spectators praise `a man of honor'
By MARIA MIRO JOHNSON
Journal Staff Writer
His honesty, his dignity, the civility he brought to the Senate, his good cheer, his common touch, his work to advance any number of important causes -- these are among the reasons why an estimated 3,000 Rhode Islanders of all stripes turned out yesterday to say a final good-bye to U.S. Sen. John H. Chafee.
At about 9 a.m., in a chilly mist that took its time lifting, the people -- young and old of many races, Republicans and Democrats, and some admirers from Massachusetts -- began lining the route of the funeral procession to wait for the cortege to pass by.
Among the most noticeable of those standing along Canal Street, at the foot of Smith Street, were several dozen khaki-clad Boy Scouts from troops across the state, invited by Chafee's family to mark his lifelong commitment to scouting.
``They understand very well that he was a man of honor and that other people respected him,'' said Elaine Magyar, who serves on the committee of Troop 76 of Providence. ``He's a wonderful role model'' and a ``hero.''
For the adults, too. Many along the route said they approved of Chafee's stands on particular issues, but mostly, they valued him as a person.
``I wouldn't call him a politician. I'd call him a gentleman and a common person,'' said Antonio Andrade, 68, of East Providence, who'd met Chafee while working as an ice-delivery man in Providence and while serving in the Navy.
``He used to come into the bars and talk like a regular Joe. He was down to earth. He was there for the people, in essence. I'm gonna miss him.''
Andrade and others said they liked Chafee's approach to politics -- that ``when you're in Congress, you're in Congress, not a Republican or a Democrat.''
Maureen Spaight, 51, who teaches government at East Providence High School, said she uses Chafee as ``an example of someone with integrity, a servant of the people.''
Joanne Rongo, 60, of Providence, carrying a small flag, said that, in all the recent tributes, not enough has been made of Chafee's work on behalf of women; how he'd supported the failed Equal Rights Amendment, abortion rights and Title 9, which guarantees girls equal access to school sports.
``I'm very sad,'' said Rongo. ``I wish he'd been able to enjoy his retirement. Rhode Island has lost a really dignified leader and the nation has lost a patriot.''
Tim Duffy, 44, of Providence, a lobbyist for school committees in the state, said that, in an era when political backbiting is the rule, Chafee represented ``the last modicum of civility of life in the Senate.''
Chafee, he noted, was one of only two Republican senators to oppose school vouchers, a vote he ``really paid the price'' for, because Republicans then penalized him by delaying action on his transportation bill.
But that was John Chafee, said former state Sen. Robin Porter -- ``He was an upright guy. Wasn't afraid to take the hits.
``He was the kind of Republican I wanted to be and thought I was: moderate, practical, a hands-on, solve-the-problems type guy.'' When he thinks of Chafee, he thinks of the way he'd put a hand on your shoulder -- ``It was kind of a blessing.''
Judith Queen, 61, of Providence, said that though she's a Democrat, she ``would vote for him every time, because of his dignity, because of his clarity, his ethics.''
SOON, the flag-wrapped casket, on a horse-drawn wagon draped with black bunting, began its descent down Smith Street, as church bells slowly tolled. The crowd hushed. Some saluted, others placed a hand over their heart. Some took pictures.
As the procession moved along, the crowd did, too. About 400 people went to the Rhode Island Convention Center to watch the funeral service on a large screen in a fifth-floor ballroom.
It seemed a fitting sign of bipartisan spirit that staffers from Democratic Sen. Jack Reed's office directed people up the escalators and handed out the programs.
On his way into the ballroom, Christopher Sirr, 65, a former Warwick City Council member, reflected on Chafee's personal touch. One day last fall, he said, when Sirr was up for re-election, Chafee was concerned that Sirr might lose, so he volunteered to go out with him knocking on doors.
Chafee also called Sirr to observe that he ``didn't have enough signs out. He wanted to make sure I had a sign in front of his house. Wonderful person.''
To Sirr, Chafee, a four-term Senator, is proof that Congressional term limits are a bad idea.
Russell Davis, 72, of Riverside, and his wife, Doris, 68, first met the senator through their childrens' interest in showing horses. In fact, Mr. Davis is the one who called for a rescue that horrible day in 1968 when Chafee's 14-year-old daughter was fatally kicked by a horse at an event in Barrington.
Then, about 25 years ago, Mr. Davis, an excavator, buried a pony named Puck on the Chafee property, not far from where the girl, Tribbie, is buried, and where Chafee himself would be interred yesterday. It was a peaceful spot, said Davis -- ``The whole place was a nice, peaceful spot.''
Chafee later helped one of the Davis daughters get into Brown University (then called Pembroke) and when she went on to become Homecoming Queen, Chafee wrote a note to say how proud he was.
``He was a beautiful man,'' said Mrs. Davis.
``Nothing highfalutin about him at all,'' agreed her husband.
John Rogers, 65, of Providence, is grateful to Chafee for helping solve some immigration problems -- ``I was trying to get my mother-in-law up here from Jamaica, to get her a green card. Today, she is a U.S. citizen because of John Chafee and people in his Providence office.''
Now it was about 11 a.m., and Chafee's coffin was being carried into the church as the already quiet convention center meeting room watched and grew even more quiet.
Those who were not too shy to do so quietly prayed and sang along with the service. When thanks were offered for the life of John Chafee, they said, ``Amen.''
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