![]() Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Zion First Baptist Church Mass Choir closed the service singing “Total Praise” by Richard Smallwood.Ī private burial was to be conducted for the family at Rest Haven Memorial Gardens in southern Baton Rouge following the service. "He put people over politics, something else we share and could certainly use more of today." "Relationships deeply mattered to him," Edwards said. He was both a risk taker and a straight shooter." With him a sharp retort or a funny joke was always on the way. Edwards' remarks at the funeral provided by his office, he said: "You know like I know that Edwin was smart, witty, charming, never at a loss for words. Edwin Edwards released a statement several hours after she died, saying they were married for 40 years, 'and she was a great asset to me as governor during my first three terms. "His impact is still felt to this very day and it will continue to be felt for years to come." "As we lay Gov. Edwin Edwards to rest today, may we celebrate his dedication and love for Louisiana which led to great change for its people," Edwards tweeted before the funeral. “I've been around the world six times and in every state and there's not a better place in America and the world than Louisiana.”Įdwin Edwards: Former Louisiana Governor enters hospice care, but says not a death sentenceĪt noon Sunday an honor guard of the Louisiana State Police brought Edwards' body down the Capitol steps, where he had lain in honor on Saturday for public visitation, and placed the casket on a horse-drawn open carriage.Įdwards' wife, Trina, the couple's 7-year-old son, Eli, and the former governor's adult children, Stephen, Victoria, Anna and David, followed the casket from the Capitol. “I’ve had a great life,” Edwards said in an interview with USA Today Network on his 90th birthday in 2017. Edwards had four grown children from his first marriage.The charismatic Cajun rogue was the state’s last populist Democratic governor in the tradition of Huey Long and Earl Long, serving consecutive terms from 1972 to 1980 and single terms from 1984 to 19 to 1996.īefore that he served as a state senator from Crowley and then represented Acadiana in Congress from 1965 to 1972. ![]() He served eight years in prison, emerging in 2011 at age 83 to marry for the third time. He insisted he did nothing wrong, blaming the conviction on perjured testimony. He was tried and convicted in 2000 for rigging the riverboat casino licensing process. After being all but written off as politically finished following a failed re-election bid in 1987, he was re-elected in 1991 after securing a runoff spot against a former Ku Klux Klan leader. He was tried and acquitted on corruption charges during his third term. He was in power during the completion of the Louisiana Superdome and was instrumental in efforts that kept the NFL's Saints in New Orleans, saved the financially troubled 1984 World's Fair, brought a casino to New Orleans and, eventually an NBA team.īut he also was frequently touched by accusations of wrongdoing. He drew praise for leading a push for a new state constitution, bringing Black people into state government and ushering in state prosperity with an overhaul of oil taxes in the 1970s. He became famous for sharp wit, deadpan one-liners and political skills that propelled him to two terms as governor in the 1970s, one in the ‘80s and another in the early ’90s. “As he once said, he was both a realist and a dreamer who often dreamed of a better world - and worked to make it so," the current governor said of Edwards in prepared remarks released publicly Sunday afternoon.Įdwin Edwards was a dominant figure in Louisiana politics for much of the late 20th century, having served in the state Senate and in Congress before winning the governorship. John Bel Edwards - no relation to the former governor - who praised Edwards as a consensus builder and deal maker who modernized state government and worked hard to fund education and the state's charity hospital system. ![]() The Southern University marching band was part of a procession that carried the body from the 34-story Capitol built in the 1930s, on a nearly mile-long route to the Old State Capitol, a 19th Century structure, where a private funeral ceremony for Edwards was held.Īmong the speakers was current Gov. His body lay in honor Saturday at the Capitol, where members of the public were allowed to file by. The four-term former governor, died at his home in Gonzales last Monday at age 93 after placing himself in hospice care following bouts with respiratory illness. Edwin Edwards down the steps of Louisiana's towering state Capitol Sunday and loaded it onto a horse-drawn carriage for transport to his funeral site. (AP) - Bagpipes played as an honor guard carried the flag-draped casket bearing the body of former Louisiana Gov. ![]()
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