Former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz sat front row at the funeral service for slain lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.
The private service at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis, which was livestreamed Saturday, saw the Hortmans and their dog, Gilbert, laid to rest.
The former Minnesota House Speaker and her husband were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park home on June 14 in a targeted attack linked to a broader plot against state Democratic officials.
Dressed as a police officer, suspected shooter Vance Boelter, 57, allegedly killed the Hortmans and severely injured Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in a separate attack that night. He has been charged with state and federal crimes.
Gilbert, the Hortman’s golden retriever, was also injured in the attack and later euthanized. His urn sat in the middle of their caskets on Friday in the rotunda of the Capitol building in St. Paul, which Biden visited.
The former president also spoke with an emotional group after viewing the caskets on Friday.
The Hortmans are survived by their adult children, Sophie and Colin Hortman, Mark’s parents, J. Carroll Hortman and Ruth Russell-Stern, and Melissa’s parents, Harry and Linda Haluptzok.
Walz was the first to deliver his eulogy, lightheartedly starting his speech, “I was standing here looking at the Speaker’s rostrum, and I asked where I’m supposed to speak. Melissa would have been quick to remind me, ‘One day out of the year, you speak at the Speaker’s rostrum, and only at my invitation.’ So I know my place.”
“Melissa Hortman will be remembered as the most consequential speaker in Minnesota history. I get to remember her as a close friend, a mentor, and the most talented legislator I’ve ever known,” Walz added.
Walz continued, “Admittedly, I never talked much politics to Mark. I tried and got a tech tip from him, but we mostly bonded over our love of that sweet, sweet 80s music. He truly appreciated.”
Family friend, attorney Robin Ann Williams, shared a humorous story about Melissa Hortman agonizing over 15 nearly identical beige paint samples for her kitchen.
“Mark and Melissa were colorful people in many ways, but their kitchen is, to this day, beige,” Williams said.
Colin Hortman, joined by his fiancée, closed the ceremony with a prayer.
