Former Florida Gov. Kirk mourned on Palm Beach - MiamiHerald.com
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Former Gov. Claude Kirk was mourned Monday as a history-making politician and gentle patriarch etched in his family's memories for his flamboyance, quirkiness and charm.
The insurance executive and political novice helped reshape Florida politics when he was elected governor in 1966, the state's first Republican chief executive in the 20th century. But it was his one-of-a-kind personality, not his political prowess, that most affected those who eulogized him in a funeral at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church.
David Lawrence, a friend of Kirk's and the former publisher of the Miami Herald, remembered the former governor as a man who generated more ideas than anyone he knew. Lawrence said not all of the ideas were well-thought, eliciting laughter from hundreds of mourners, but that he cared immensely about policy and the people it affected.
"Overall, we were so much the better for him speaking up," Lawrence said, calling Kirk a bridge to Florida's future.
Sophie Patent, one of Kirk's 14 grandchildren, remembered how her grandfather would always begin his phone calls to her with "Hello, my angel." She recalled how he'd flood her family's house with sometimes unintelligible faxes and how he'd send pens, paper clips and other items from his desk with a note saying "Thought you might like this."
And she smiled as she quoted her grandfather saying "Men in our family don't drink out of sissy sticks," to warn an in-law not to use a straw, and "I know people," when he offered to hire a hit man whenever they were wronged.
"Making others feel special was one of his greatest gifts," Patent said.
Two of Kirk's successors, Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist, sat beside one another in the front pew to pay their respects. Eight state troopers, wearing black memorial stripes across their badges and white gloves on their hands, were the pallbearers. News trucks parked outside the packed sanctuary.
Claudia Kirk Barto, one of Kirk's seven children, remarked how much her father would have enjoyed the attention of his funeral.
"He would have loved this, everyone making such a fuss over him," she said.
04 Oct, 2011--
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