Pell remembered as "American Royalty"

NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) - George Washington and Queen Elizabeth have worshipped there. But Monday morning, it was a man described as "American Royalty" who was honored and remembered at Trinity Episcopal church in Newport.

Hundreds of people, including a prince, former president and a handful of U.S. Senators, turned out to pay their respects to former Sen. Claiborne Pell , who died News Year's day at his Newport home.

"He was a Senator for our time, and for all time," said Sen. Edward Kennedy. "He was an orginal, he was my friend, and I will miss him very much.

Kennedy, Vice President-elect Joseph Biden , former President Bill Clinton , Sen. Jack Reed , and Pell's grandson, Nicholas Lorillard Pell, all delivered eulogies at the service, which lasted about 90 minutes.

As Pell's friends and family remembered a man who worked tirelessly for decades as a U.S. Senator, their dedications were poigniant, moving, and at times funny.

"He would say life is not a bowl of cherries and encourage you to adapt and live to fight another day," said Nicholas Lorillard Pell. "How he came through when you needed him most. Always there. Always dependable. And always true to his moral compass. That was my grandfather."

Former President Bill Clinton called Pell "American royalty."

"He was the right kind of aristocrat - a champion by choice, not circumstance, of the common good, our common future and our common dreams," Clinton said. "He may have been sitting in a wheelchair, but as far as I'm concerned he had a four foot vertical jump."

Vice President-elect Joseph Biden recalled how, when he was a young Senator, newly elected to Washington, he looked up to Pell.

"President Kennedy once said Sen. Pell was the least-electable man in America, a view I suppose was shared by at least six of his opponents when he ran for the United States Senate," Biden said.

Senator Reed , show replaced Pell after he retired from the Senate in 1997, said it's been an honor following in Pell's footsteps.

"As it had been so often in his life, his contribution will appear to be the work of others," said Reed. "Now, I have one remaining priviledge. Simply to say, on behalf of the people of Rhode Island, thank you Senator Pell."