Ali will draw world to hometown for funeral

Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky.

Muhammad Ali crafted the plan for his final tribute years ago, long before he died. On Friday, his family will honor him just as he planned, with a global celebration in his hometown.

A procession will carry his body down an avenue in Louisville that bears his name, through his boyhood neighborhood and down Broadway, the scene of the parade that honored the brash young man – then known as Cassius Clay – for his gold medal at the 1960 Olympics.

A day after Ali died at age 74 from complications of Parkinson’s disease, a family spokesman outlined plans for Ali’s funeral as people from Manila to Louisville to his adopted home of Arizona mourned the boxing great’s passing.

The family “certainly believes that Muhammad was a citizen of the world ... and they know that the world grieves with him,” spokesman Bob Gunnell said at a news conference in Scottsdale.

Family members will accompany Ali’s remains to Louisville within the next two days. A private funeral will take place Thursday.

After the Friday procession, a memorial service open to the public is planned at the KFC YUM! Center. Eulogists will include former President Bill Clinton, comedian Billy Crystal and sports-television host Bryant Gumbel.

The ceremony will be led by an imam in the Muslim tradition but include representatives of other faiths. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch will represent Mormons.

“Muhammad Ali was clearly the people’s champion,” Gunnell said, “and the celebration will reflect his devotion to people of all races, religions and backgrounds.”

The spokesman said Ali died in Arizona at 9:10 p.m. Friday local time of “septic shock due to unspecified natural causes,” three decades after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

It is not clear what specifically caused the septic shock. However, difficulty swallowing is among complications of Parkinson’s disease and it can worsen at the end of life. It makes eating and drinking difficult, and patients are at risk for aspirating food or liquids into their lungs, leading to pneumonia and a chest infection that in weakened patients can lead to sepsis – a bloodstream infection that can in turn cause organ failure and death.

Ali was mourned around the globe Saturday, and in his hometown, not even pouring rain could stop the tributes for “The Greatest.”

In the three-time heavyweight champion’s old neighborhood, brother Rahaman Ali stood in a small house on Grand Avenue and dabbed his eyes as he shook hand after hand. The visitors had come from as far away as Georgia and as near as down the street.

“God bless you all,” the 72-year-old Rahaman said to each.

Ali’s death held special meaning in Louisville, where he was the city’s favorite son.

“He was one of the most honorable, kindest men to live on this planet,” his brother said while greeting mourners at their childhood home, recently renovated and turned into a museum.