McCain memorialized in Phoenix

An estimated 3,500 mourners attended a funeral for John McCain on Thursday in Phoenix. The memorial for the six-term Republican senator from Arizona, former Vietnam prisoner of war, and two-time presidential candidate was held at North Phoenix Baptist Church, the McCain family’s church for more than 25 years.

The service began with McCain’s daughter Bridget reading from Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, a time to die.” Other speakers included former Vice President Joe Biden, former McCain chief of staff Grant Woods, and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Biden called McCain a man of character and a brother “with a lot of family fights,” and Woods drew laughs as he remembered his fomer boss’ sense of humor and terrible driving. The church’s senior pastor, Noe Garcia, called McCain, “a true American hero.”

After the service, McCain’s casket was wheeled out of the church to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” His body was then flown to Washington, D.C., where it will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, followed by a service at the Washington National Cathedral on Saturday, and burial at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Sunday. McCain died last Saturday of brain cancer at age 81.