Harriman Funeral Draws Dignitaries, Praise for a ‘Giant’
More than a dozen U.S. senators and prominent figures from the Kennedy era gathered at a 5th Avenue church Tuesday to remember W. Averell Harriman, the heir to a railroad fortune who became one of the nation’s leading statesmen.
Harriman, who died Saturday at age 94, was a governor, an ambassador and an adviser to Democratic presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter.
“A great and extraordinary person has departed this life, one of the last giants of our day,” Episcopal Bishop Paul Moore Jr. said at St. Thomas Church.
“To read his life story even in summary is a staggering experience,” Moore said. He said Harriman “was there at every dangerous lurch of events in this strange century of ours.”
Ushers included several of Harriman’s fellow advisers to President John F. Kennedy, including McGeorge Bundy, Clark M. Clifford and John Kenneth Galbraith.
A private burial was held at the family estate in Harriman, N.Y. A memorial service is scheduled at the National Cathedral in Washington on Sept. 16.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
