Posted on 07/24/2005 5:08:22 AM PDT by baystaterebel
Grief doesn't diminish their anger. Relatives of the late Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich are upset over what they consider to be Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll's cynical intrusion on their mourning.
Goodrich, 32, of Westwood, had many roles in life: husband, son, police officer, handyman, landscaper, Central Catholic High School wrestler, altar boy.
He died July 10 in a mortar attack in Hit, Iraq. Friends and relatives packed St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Carnegie on Tuesday for the infantry unit leader's funeral.
Knoll was among those in attendance.
Rhonda Goodrich, 38, of Indiana County, the fallen soldier's sister-in-law, said Knoll slipped into a pew next to his aunt, Linda Kubiak of Bethel Park. Through Goodrich, Kubiak declined to comment.
Rhonda Goodrich said Knoll, 74, of McKees Rocks, began chatting with Kubiak during the communion service.
"When (Knoll) found out (Kubiak) was Joe's aunt, she handed her a business card and told her she attends 90 percent of these 'functions' across the state," Rhonda Goodrich said.
"This was not a 'function,' " she continued, fairly spitting out the words. "A function is a dinner
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
To bad somebody didn't drag this sorry *itch out by the hair...
Rhonda Goodrich remains angry, but she is grateful for one thing.
"I'm glad she didn't sit down next to me and say those things," Goodrich said. "I would have smacked her on the spot."
The Secretary of Defense needs to inform the two Senators from PA that all military contracts involving businesses in PA are now under review and could be terminated.
You consider crashing a funeral to be "visiting with family"?
I don't want some wacko politician inviting herself to any of MY family's funerals.
Catholic masses and Lutheran services have much in common, sometimes. Heck, I'm a convert to Catholicism and I often joke with my husband that the only thing I miss about being Lutheran is kneeling for Communion.
Well, that and the potluck :D
Do you mean kneeling to receive communion?
In our parish some of the "strict traditionalists" (for lack of a better term), kneel to receive communion.
If you attend the Tridentine Latin Mass, communion is at the rail, and one is kneeling to receive.
Here we have a pot luck dinner after Latin Mass (twice a month).
I see no reason why you couldn't perhaps start a monthly pot luck dinner, perhaps in conjunction with a ministry or KoC or some such. It's a great way to meet people, and would be a great way to welcome new parishioners.
Was being the operative word- given what he started, I wouldn't have thought that of Lutherans. Thanks for the info.
>>I would cut the old Rat some slack on this one. Visiting with 90% of the families who lost someone in the war is admirable. Sure she said something that may of been ungracious in an awkward situation, a more polite response may of served everyone better.
<<
What she said wasn't merely ungracious and awkward. It was vile, calculated, and self-serving. And she wasn't there out of "respect."
There was nothing admirable about it. She was there to use a funeral for her political advantage.
These people are lower than maggots.
The Lieutenant Governor showing up just for a few private words with the family, representing the state in saying thanks for the sacrifice made in a war, does not seem that bad. Looks like this clown went over the top.
This woman Knoll is a NATIONAL TREASURE----virtually EVERY single detail about her trespassing on this funeral service
is expressive of EVERYTHING that's wrong with Democrats and the Democrat "mindset". FIRST of all, SINCE WHEN does state government have an official position on the Iraq war or ANY war?? Dud the Governor who appointed her, or her own electorate,elect EITHER of them with a 100% majority? Any why would a Lieutenant Governor be the peripatetic emmisary, or "Bad Will Ambassador", as it were , to officially put her and her state government's 2 cents in, especially at a FUNERAL service?? Oh, excuse me, she didn't consider it a funeral, but, completely tellingly, described it as a "function", which TELLS ALL.
Democrats do not acknowledge funerals as private sites and occasions of grief, but rather as OPPORTUNITIES to ply their trade and put forth their agendas. You have to admit it, they just keep topping themselves. If you saw this in a movie, the writers would be accused of distortion.
We might need a trip to Harrisburg.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.