Politicians eulogize U.S. Rep. Gillmor

The congressman was one of only seven people to lie in state in the rotunda.

COLUMBUS (AP) — U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor was remembered Tuesday in ceremonies at the Ohio Statehouse as a husband, father, grandfather, colleague and an upfront legislator who “understood his adversaries were not his enemies.”

Gillmor, 68, died last Wednesday in an apparent fall down stairs at his suburban Washington apartment. The Republican had represented most of northwest Ohio in Congress for nearly 20 years and also served in the Ohio Senate from 1967-89.

Hundreds of mourners gathered in the Statehouse Atrium to pay final respects. Among them were former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, former Gov. Bob Taft, most of the Ohio congressional delegation — Democrats and Republicans — and other colleagues past and present.

“With the passing of Paul Gillmor, Ohio has lost the service of a great person,” Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat who was Gillmor’s congressional colleague for 12 years, said in his eulogy. “He understood his adversaries were not his enemies.”

Gillmor’s closed, flag-draped coffin lay in state in the rotunda Tuesday morning, then was moved to the Atrium for the memorial service. Other speakers included U.S. Sen. George Voinovich; U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner of West Chester; U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a Toledo Democrat; and U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula, a Navarre Republican.

What they said

Former state Sen. Stanley Aronoff, a Cincinnati Republican who succeeded Gillmor as Senate president in 1989, remembered Gillmor as someone who would help anyone.

“Paul was the same person in 1967 as he was the last time I saw him in Washington this year,” Aronoff said. “He loved the job but didn’t catch Potomac fever.”

Kaptur, whose Toledo-area district adjoined Gillmor’s, said the congressman was at his best helping constituents by improving roads, especially accident-prone U.S. Route 24, and leading the quest for aid for victims of recent flooding. She recalled his manner as he helped her out of a helicopter during a recent tour the two took of flooded areas.

“He held out his hand. What a gentleman! What a gentleman!” Kaptur said.

Gillmor’s wife, Karen, also a former state senator, spoke briefly and thanked the hundreds of people who turned out. She described his personal creed as earning your own way, working hard and paying back what you receive.

“He might have judged ideas, but not people,” she said.

Before the service, Gillmor’s coffin was flanked by Ohio National Guard Honor Guard members in the middle of the rotunda as mourners greeted family members.

Gillmor, who was Ohio Senate president from 1981-83 and 1985-89, was a “very kind and gentle man,” said Judy Stalter of Columbus, who knew the congressman when she served as assistant Senate clerk in the 1980s.

“I have the highest respect for him,” said Stalter, who was joined at the Statehouse on Tuesday by her husband, Charles. “He will be really missed in the political scheme of things.”

Select group

Gillmor joins a select list of people chosen to lie in state in the state Capitol. Only six other people, including President Abraham Lincoln, have lain in state in the rotunda, the highest Statehouse honor. The first was arctic explorer Elisha Kent Kane in 1857, while the building was under construction. The last was four-term Gov. James A. Rhodes in 2001.

Calling hours for Gillmor will be held today in Tiffin, followed by a memorial service and private burial in his hometown of Old Fort. Gillmor also is survived by five children.

A medical examiner’s report released Friday in Virginia said Gillmor died of blunt head and neck trauma consistent with a fall down stairs. The death was certified as an accident.

Under Ohio law, Strickland must call a special election to replace Gillmor. No date has yet been set.