VP Joe Biden and others remember Stevens, nation’s longest serving Republican senator

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Dozens of dignitaries attend Stevens’ funeral

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — When former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens made a commitment, people could bet their lives that he would follow through, Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday at the funeral of the Senate’s longest serving Republican.

Stevens, who died along with four others last week in a plane crash in southwest Alaska, was remembered by Biden and other speakers as a fierce defender of Alaska and its way of life.

The funeral Wednesday marked the end of three days of remembrances that began Monday when several hundred people attended a Catholic Mass in Anchorage. Mourners filed past a closed casket Tuesday as Stevens’ body lay in repose at an Episcopal church.

Biden said one could count on Stevens to follow through on his commitments. In remembering how he and Stevens bonded over the deaths of their first wives, the vice president struck an emotional chord, saying the two grew together as friends and were part of each other’s lives.

“His word was his bond,” Biden said. “His personal generosity was surprising in how quickly it was offered.”

Biden also brought laughter to the packed church, recalling Stevens’ success in bringing federal money back to Alaska. Biden said “significant” amounts of money that belong to Biden’s home state of Delaware and other states is now in Alaska.

More than 20 current and former senators, governors — including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — and foreign representatives also attended the funeral, which was broadcast nationally.

Biden said he and Stevens supported each other when their first wives died in tragic accidents and celebrated the joys that second marriages brought to both.

Throughout it all, Stevens worked hard for Alaska, Biden said.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Stevens devoted “every day of his life” to promoting Alaskans, not himself. Stevens came to Washington with a mission — to help build up the state — and never wavered from it, said McConnell, who served with Stevens.

The funeral was held at Anchorage Baptist Temple, Anchorage’s largest church. It can seat over 2,000 people in its auditorium, and an additional 2,000 seats were set up in an overflow area to accommodate mourners.

The 86-year-old Stevens was appointed to the Senate in December 1968 and spent 40 years in office, becoming the longest-serving Republican senator in the nation’s history. (The late Strom Thurmond was in the Senate longer than Stevens, but he spent a decade there as a Democrat before switching to the GOP.)

He began his career in public service in the days before Alaska statehood and did not abandon politics until 2008, when he was convicted on corruption charges shortly before Election Day. A federal judge later threw out the verdict because of misconduct by federal prosecutors.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, drew thunderous applause at the funeral when he said people knew Stevens wasn’t guilty and that he was vindicated.

Inouye and Stevens worked together from the time their states were just territories. He said his and Stevens’ relationship epitomized bipartisanship — knowing they had to fight together to make progress — and he also noted the many Democrats in the church.

Stevens died along with four others when their plane crashed Aug. 9 north of Dillingham en route from a corporate-owned lodge to a fishing camp. Four people, including ex-NASA chief Sean O’Keefe and his son Kevin, survived.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, drew thunderous applause at the funeral when he said people knew Stevens wasn’t guilty of corruption.

Inouye and Stevens worked together from the time their states were just territories. He said his and Stevens’ relationship epitomized bipartisanship — knowing they had to fight together to make progress — and he also noted the many Democrats in the church.

Stevens died Aug. 9 north of Dillingham when the plane smashed into a hillside while going to a corporate-owned lodge to a fishing camp. Four people, including ex-NASA chief Sean O’Keefe and his son Kevin, were among the survivors.

The others killed in the crash were pilot Theron Smith, General Communications Inc. executive Dana Tindall, her 16-year-old daughter, Corey, and William “Bill” Phillips Sr., who had worked with Stevens in Washington.

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Associated Press writers Rachel D’Oro in Anchorage and Becky Bohrer in Juneau contributed to this story.