Many Prepare To Say Final Goodbyes To William Donald Schaefer On Wednesday
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- City Hall is full of emotion Tuesday night as friends and strangers pay their respects to William Donald Schaefer. People started lining up Tuesday morning just to have a final moment with the former governor and mayor. His funeral will be held Wednesday morning.
Jessica Kartalija has more on what we can expect from the service.
At Old Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, they're preparing to celebrate the life of William Donald Schaefer.
"He was a member here. He actually served on our vestry," said Rev. Mark Stanley. "People definitely knew and treasured him here."
"We will have three readers and the Morgan State Choir will be singing `Ave Maria' and `Maryland My Maryland' and a couple songs," said Lainy LeBow-Sachs.
LeBow-Sachs, Senator Barbara Mikulski and Kweisi Mfume will reflect on his life.
"He believed so much in using public office to help other people that when he saw people using public office to help themselves, it turned him off completely," Mfume said.
"He was a Baltimore original. We'll never see another William Donald Schaefer," Mikulski said.
The homily will be given by Reverend Luther Starnes.
"He believed there was a God who cared about people and cared about him and that's the way I left him and that's the way I will leave him Wednesday, in the hands of a God who loved him as much as he loved God and the people," Starnes said.
The church seats 850 people. They are expecting such a large crowd, they have overflow seating at the Tremont Grand Hotel next door where people can watch the service on television. Schaefer will then be taken to Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.
"All the movements holding the casket, all the movements with the flags, the firing parties, the rifles and also with the bugler to make sure that they are all in position, ready to go when the event happens," said Yari Villanueva.
His body will be privately moved into the cemetery's mausoleum.
You can watch the funeral live on WJZ at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
