Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger delivers an eulogy for William F. Buckley Jr. during a memorial mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, April 4, 2008. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES)
Posted on 04/04/2008 8:35:25 PM PDT by kingattax
Dignitaries attend a memorial at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York for the founder of modern conservatism. 'It's not easy coming up with an epitaph for a man like that,' says his son.
NEW YORK -- Henry Kissinger reached the end of his speech.
His voice cracked and tears rimmed his eyes as he addressed the 2,000 people who sat before him, quiet.
William F. Buckley Jr., he said, "was a noble and valiant man who was truly touched by the grace of God."
Kissinger eulogized the progenitor of the modern conservative movement Friday at the vast St. Patrick's Cathedral in a ceremony marked more by erudition and laughter than tears.
Buckley -- writer, editor and television talk show host -- died Feb. 27 at 82 in his Stamford, Conn., home.
"We talked about this day, he and I, a few years ago," said Buckley's son, the writer Christopher Buckley, who gave the only other eulogy. His father had instructed him to hold the memorial at St. Patrick's if he was still famous at the time of his death. " 'If not, just tuck me away at Stamford,' " the younger Buckley said.
"Well, Pop, I guess you're still famous," Christopher Buckley added as he surveyed the crowd.
Seated beneath the Gothic arches was a who's who of American letters and politics: former Sen. George S. McGovern, Sen. Joe Lieberman, William Kristol, Richard Lowry, Tom Wolfe, P.J. O'Rourke, Christopher Hitchens, Charlie Rose, Chris Matthews, Tina Brown. (Actor Tom Selleck was there too.)
As Bill Buckley had requested, there was music by Bach.
But Kissinger invoked another composer.
"He wrote as Mozart composed -- by inspiration," Kissinger said. "He never needed a second draft."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
“Tina Brown, Cris Matthews...” yet Rush’s name shall not be mentioned.
Well...it IS the LA Times.....
I am sure the service was beautiful but I could never understand him when he spoke, I also can’t understand Kissinger when he speaks. The writing word, yes he was good.
Rush Limbaugh was also at the funeral - wonder why his name wasn't mentioned in the article???.....
“Liberals, it has been said, are generous with other peoples’ money, except when it comes to questions of national survival when they prefer to be generous with other people’s freedom and security.” — William F. Buckley Jr.
Am I to understand Bill was “on ice” all this time? Why the delay?
I remember as a kid of 12 or so reading Buckley’s essays. I didn’t understand half of the words he used. His writing forced me to become acquainted, intimately, with our friend the dictionary.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger delivers an eulogy for William F. Buckley Jr. during a memorial mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, April 4, 2008. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES)
It’s a “Memorial Service”......usually means after the Funeral, and the remains are likely already disposed of to their final resting place.
He caused me a world of internal confusion during the sixties, but I believed him and his logic and it was a powerful force in my life.
Also his words and ideas were echoed by my voice in my hippie world of those years, no one will know the full effect that his long life’s work will have on America, but it is vast.
When Buckley died a street friend from those years of the sixties called and told me that he remembered that Buckley was a hero of mine during those years, it made me kind of proud that I had made such a big deal of him that it actually stuck with someone else all these years.
No, he merely acknowledged that, as practiced by liberalism's leading American proponents, one was the logical conclusion of the other.
*snicker* Spoken like a man who truly understood the fleeting nature of 'celebrity' in the media.
I believe his Funeral Mass was a few days after this death. This was simply a Memorial Service.
Yes, fairly thought I had alluded to that. The sub for Rush called it a funeral yesterday, and figured it was a re-run.
This was a memorial service not a funeral, an important distinction in the Catholic faith. Buckley’s funeral was in Connecticut on 8 March 2008.
Buckley’s funeral was held on 8 March 2008. This was a memorial service.
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