Early this morning, Politico author Andrew Glass wrote a tribute to Michael Deaver, who passed away Aug. 18. Deaver’s funeral had been scheduled for today to allow people interested in attending to return from vacations and whatnot. No one, least of all Deaver, realized just how many people would want to come:
Before Michael Deaver, the longtime aide and image maestro to Ronald Reagan, died on Aug. 18 of pancreatic cancer at age 69, he requested that his memorial service take place at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Established in 1815, it stands across Lafayette Square from the White House and is known as “The Church of the Presidents.”
Deaver’s family made the arrangements in keeping with his wish. They also delayed the service until the first Thursday after Labor Day, when much of official Washington would be back from the traditional vacation period.
They soon found, however, that Deaver, a well-known figure on the Washington scene since 1981, had many more friends and admirers – including Nancy Reagan, the former first lady – who wished to attend than St. John’s could accommodate. St. John’s seats only several hundred people.
So the service was shifted to Washington National Cathedral Thursday at 11 a.m.
No news reports have come out about attendance at the funeral, but Glass’s full article provides a run-down of who spoke. You can read it here.