Goldwater's Body To Be Cremated; Funeral Set For Wednesday
PHOENIX, Ariz. (AllPolitics, June 2) -- Barry Goldwater's body will be cremated after his funeral Wednesday, and a newspaper reports his ashes will be mixed with those of his first wife and spread in the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
A public viewing of the former senator's body was set for Tuesday in the same church in which he was baptized 87 years ago. His funeral will be Wednesday at Arizona State University.
Goldwater served three decades in the U.S. Senate and was the unsuccessful GOP presidential nominee in 1964. He died Friday at 89.
A funeral home spokesman confirmed to CNN that Goldwater's remains would be cremated, but he was unable to say what the family planned to do with the ashes.
The Tribune newspaper of Mesa, Ariz., which has been a reliable source of information about Goldwater, reported Tuesday Goldwater's ashes would be mixed with those of Margaret "Peggy" Goldwater, his first wife who died in 1985.
The paper reported the combined ashes would be spread over where the Colorado River and the Little Colorado River merge in the Grand Canyon.
People will have the opportunity to view Goldwater's body from 11 a.m. PDT to 7 p.m. PDT Tuesday in the sanctuary of the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Phoenix.
It was at that church where Goldwater was baptized in 1911. The building that stands there now was built in 1920, replacing the original sanctuary.
Those visiting the church will also see a stained-glass window, known as the choir window, which was donated by the Goldwater family in memory of Barry Goldwater's parents. The baptismal font, the vessel used in his baptism, will also be displayed, along with the church's register of Goldwater's baptism.
On Wednesday morning, the public will again have the chance to view his body before a processional takes the body to Grady Gammage Auditorium at Arizona State University for the funeral service.
The processional will travel past Goldwater's birthplace. A storefront now stands in place of the house in which he was born.
At 12:40 p.m. PDT, the hearse is scheduled to arrive at the auditorium. Five minutes later, four U.S. Air Force F-16 fighters from nearby Luke Air Force Base will conduct a fly-over in the "missing man" formation.
Goldwater was a World War II Army Air Corps flyer and a retired U.S. Air Force Reserves general.
The funeral service, which is expected to last about 75 minutes, is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. PDT.
Robert Goldwater Sr., Goldwater's brother, will deliver one of the eulogies. Six of Goldwater's grandsons will serve as pallbearers.
An Army band and an Air Force honor guard also will take part in the service.
Susan Goldwater, his second wife whom he married in 1992, will be presented with the flag from his coffin.
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