John Dingell: Funerals in Dearborn and Georgetown
By • February 11, 2019 0 1229
The longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, John David Dingell Jr., died Feb. 7 at the age of 92 from complications due to prostate cancer in Dearborn, Michigan. At his side was his wife, Rep. Deborah Dingell, who succeeded him in Congress in 2015.
First elected in 1955 to succeed his father, Dingell represented the people of suburban Detroit for almost 60 years. He was a defender of the auto industry as well as a longtime member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which he chaired on and off for many years.
The Democrat was proud of his work on the Medicare Act, the Water Quality Act of 1965, the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Clean Air Act of 1990 and the Affordable Care Act, among others — and was most proud of his work on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He served until 2015 and was one of the World War II veterans in Congress.
In retirement, he chimed in regularly on Twitter and become known as the “Dean of Twitter.” He dictated “John Dingell: My last words for America,” which ran in the Washington Post, to his wife Debbie the day of his death.
A visitation is being held today at Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dingell’s hometown of Dearborn, according to the Detroit Free Press. A funeral mass will be held Tuesday at the Church of the Divine Child in Dearborn. In Washington, on Thursday, Feb. 14, a funeral mass will be held at Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown, with an interment to follow at Arlington National Cemetery.
