News-Record.com

RALEIGH - Jesse Helms was laid to rest Tuesday in a simple, dignified ceremony that emphasized the man rather than the conservative force who became a beloved and despised household name in American politics.

A delegation from Washington - including Vice President Dick Cheney and Cindy McCain, the wife of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain - was among those who crowded into Hayes Barton Baptist Church to pay tribute to the former five-term senator. Helms died Friday at 86.

Most of Tuesday's service focused on Helms' role as the patriarch of his family, Senate staff and colleagues, rather than on Helms as one of Washington's most feared men.

Senators, former aides and relatives spoke of the senator as a master of constituent service, a workaholic, an encourager of young people and a man willing to take unpopular stands.

"Over the years anybody who passed by his office would remember him as one of the kindest people they ever knew," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a eulogy. "No matter who you were, he always had a gentle word and a kind smile."

The mood of the estimated 900 people in the Raleigh church was subdued, but not somber. Helms had been out of office for more than five years, and in recent years, he had been in declining health and had difficulty recognizing many people.

For many graying Helms supporters and staffers, it was a chance to catch up and reminisce about old political battles.

The congregation sang such favorite hymns as "Amazing Grace" and "My Faith Looks Up to Thee." Crisp state troopers were an honor guard for the flag-draped coffin, with a portrait of Helms sitting on an easel nearby.

Helms was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

The service lacked the pomp of some recent political funerals, including those of South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond or Terry Sanford, a former North Carolina governor and senator.

Cheney quietly slipped in and out. The appearance of Cindy McCain, accompanied by Republican Sen. Richard Burr, attracted attention. Her husband isn't a favorite of many Helms-style conservatives.

The rows of the church were crowded with more than a dozen senators, including Republicans Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Richard Lugar of Indiana, Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett of Utah, Jon Kyl of Arizona, Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby of Alabama and Sam Brownback of Kansas. There were also former senators such as Bob Dole of Kansas, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Don Nickles of Oklahoma.

Democrats were also among the mourners, including former Senate colleagues Joe Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut.

"One of the things people fail to realize was how well Sen. Helms was respected in the Senate and on a personal level," said Tom Boney, a longtime staffer. "They could disagree. There was a certain degree of civility, contrary to the perception that Sen. Helms is often at odds on every issue."

The man who last represented North Carolina alongside Helms, Democrat John Edwards, was a no-show. The two men had said uncomplimentary things about each other in recent years.

Also crowding the sanctuary were dozens of men and women who once were aides to Helms, but who are now holding jobs in Washington.

Former chief of staff Jimmy Broughton, in a eulogy, read from a memo taken during one of Helms' first staff meetings in 1973.

"He wants no bowing and scraping," the staffer wrote. "He's just a country boy from Union County."

Stelle Snyder of Monroe, who helped write Helms' 2005 memoir, said he would have enjoyed the funeral.

"He was so proud of these people, of the Helms Senate family," she said. "He would be shocked that this country boy from Monroe would have this kind of funeral, that this church would be full of dignitaries."