Hortman funeral offers mix of sorrow, humor and reflection

Hortman funeral offers mix of sorrow, humor and reflectionHortman funeral offers mix of sorrow, humor and reflection

It’s difficult to sum up the lives of two people who die so suddenly, violently and senselessly.

So it was heartening to the nearly 1,500 people gathered at the Basilica of St. Mary to hear the lives of Melissa and Mark Hortman honored with a healing mix of reflection, humor, remembrance and prayer.

“Indeed, they lived lives with purpose and meaning,” said Fr. Daniel Griffith, Pastor of the Basilica of St. Mary. “Lives lived in service of others.”

Fr. Griffith was the only one of the speakers who touched on the murders of the Hortmans, saying it should serve as another wake-up call, five years after the murder of George Floyd made Minnesota “ground zero” for racial injustice.

“And now we are the ground zero place for political violence and extremism,” he said. “Both of these must be decried in the strongest possible terms as they are respectively a threat to human dignity and indeed our democracy.”

He says now Minnesota has a chance to be ground zero for “healing.”

The funeral was attended by a wide swath of the political spectrum, from conservative to progressive, from Republicans to Democrats and everything in between. There was a bipartisan contingent of Minnesota’s U.S. House delegation, Republican and Democratic legislative leaders past and present, the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Joining all of them were former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton.

“Melissa Hortman will be remembered as the most consequential Speaker in Minnesota history,” said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, one of two people asked by the Hortman family to offer “words of remembrance.”

He says the deaths should give us all a reason to temper the words and actions of people in the political world. “Maybe it is this moment where all of us can examine the way we work together,” he said. “The way we talk about each other. The way we fight for things we care about. A moment when each of us can re-commit to engaging in politics and life the way Mark and Melissa did.”

There was also some much-needed humor offered by a good friend of the Hortmans, Robin Ann Williams. She told an endearing story about Melissa Hortman during a home remodeling project.

“Prior to the remodel, Melissa asked me to help her pick paint colors for the kitchen,” Williams said. “When I arrived, I was met no fewer than 15 paint samples…all of which were beige.”

She delivered the line perfectly, and it drew laughter from the congregation, and even more when she said the kitchen is beige to this day.

Williams also talked about Mark’s varied interests and hobbies. “As we’ve referenced, his newest interest was baking sourdough bread, which tasted a lot better than his homemade beer.”

The service ended with an emotional Colin Hortman, the son of Melissa and Mark, reciting the “Prayer of St. Francis,” which he says his mom always carried in her wallet.

“For it is in giving that we receive and it is in pardoning that we are pardoned…and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen,” he said as his voice cracked while choking back tears.

After the funeral service ended, the caskets were carried down the steps of the ornate Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis. Gov. Walz presented Colin and Sophie with U.S. and Minnesota flags.

Looking on were a wide array of political dignitaries, friends and family of the Hortmans. Among those sharing memories of Melissa was her uncle Greg Boehm.

“Well, I can tell you the day I met her is a story…She was probably a week, eight days old, and we had a family gathering…her mother came up to me, kind of a bachelor uncle, and said, ‘Would you like to hold Melissa?’ And my God, there’s no wrong answer.’ There she is, handed her to me, and she’s been just a sweetheart ever since.”

He says the family was always proud of her accomplishments. “She woke up every morning wanting to do something good, accomplish something, that was her.”

Boehm also said Melissa was always ambitious. “When she got out of college, we had a family Christmas gathering, and I asked her, ‘Well, what do you want to be now that you’ve finished college?’ And she said, ‘I’d like to be the president.’ And she was on her way in certain ways…but I think she found a better way to serve.”

DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy also paid tribute to Hortman, someone she spent countless hours with negotiating the state budget. “Melissa was my dear friend, and we’ve sent her on ahead of us,” Murphy said. “She will find our way, and we will follow with the beacon that she’s left for us.”

The Hortmans were driven away in two white hearses as the family had plans for a private burial service.

Below is a photo gallery of the funeral courtesy of the Star Tribune:

Courtesy of the Star Tribune

The Hortmans and their dog, Gilbert, were shot and killed in what investigators say was a politically motivated attack on June 14 at their Brooklyn Park home.

State and federal prosecutors have each charged the alleged gunman, Vance Boelter, with murder in connection with their deaths. He appeared in federal court Friday morning.

Click here for KSTP’s full coverage of Vance Boelter.

Thousands lined up at the Minnesota State Capitol on Friday to pay their respects to the Hortmans and their dog.
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