Eulogy: Paul Coverdell

In June some close friends came to Kennebunkport for Barbara's surprise birthday party. A friend asked, Who are those two over there--the quiet guy with the glasses and the beautiful woman? It was Paul Coverdell from Georgia, a leader in the U.S. Senate, a close friend for many years, and his wife Nancy. I should have told my friend more about Paul. That he loved politics. That he was good at it. That he was a clear example of politics as a noble calling. That quiet can be good.

Paul didn't whine from the sidelines. He helped build an opposition party in Georgia when there was none. He lacked flamboyance, but no one ever served more effectively in the Georgia senate or in the U.S. Senate. When in his wise and earnest manner he spoke, people listened. He made a lot of fast friends. He cared about people: ask those who worked under him when he was Peace Corps director. Through good times and bad, he was at my side--advising and strengthening me by his love and friendship. Paul was doing the same for our eldest son, helping him navigate the tricky waters of the Senate, quietly advising him on whom he could depend. He left behind a lasting legacy that if you treat people with unfailing kindness, you earn respect. We Bushes loved him.

--George Bush, former President of the U.S.