Mourners pay respects to broadcaster Paul Harvey

CHICAGO (AP) — The son of radio legend Paul Harvey used his father’s words for the eulogy Saturday at a public funeral service in Chicago, the city from which he launched his national news and commentary show.

“A great tree has fallen,” said Paul Harvey Jr., quoting his father’s send-off for President Franklin Roosevelt. “An empty place has opened up against the sky.”

The broadcaster died March 1 in Phoenix, where he had a winter home, less than a year after the death of his wife of nearly 68 years, Lynne Harvey. He was 90.

Their son recalled the couple’s long romance and his father’s start on radio for the 200 mourners at the Fourth Presbyterian Church on the city’s Magnificent Mile.

When his father first applied for a job on radio, he was given a broom and told to sweep up, Harvey Jr. said.

Harvey had been heard nationally since 1951, when he began his “News and Comment” for ABC Radio Networks. He was credited with inventing or popularizing terms such as “skyjacker,” “Reaganomics” and “guesstimate.”

Staccato delivery, long pauses and phrases such as “Stand by for news!” were Harvey’s hallmarks.