U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings' Funeral Services Set
BALTIMORE, MD — Funeral arrangements have been set for U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the celebrated statesman who died Thursday in Baltimore at age 68 from long-standing health complications.
Cummings, who was chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, will lie in state in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, starting with a formal ceremony open to members of Congress, the Cummings family and invited guests, according to a statement from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. She called Cummings the “North Star” for the House, describing him as a “leader of towering character and integrity” who “pushed the Congress and country to rise always to a higher purpose.”
A public viewing will follow the private ceremony at the Capitol, with details to be announced.
On Oct. 25, Cummings will be memorialized in his hometown of Baltimore with a viewing at 8 a.m. and a service at 10 a.m. at New Psalmist Baptist Church, 6020 Marian Drive, Baltimore.
Cummings was a congregant at New Psalmist for almost 40 years, according to The Baltimore Sun, which reported he will be eulogized by Bishop Walter S. Thomas Jr., who anticipates an overflow crowd at the 4,000-seat sanctuary.
“We knew him as a member of New Psalmist,” the church said in a statement, “but the world knew him as a defender of freedom and champion of justice. Rest in peace and receive our love.”
March Funeral Homes is coordinating the arrangements for Cummings in west Baltimore.
In lieu of flowers, people may make memorial contributions to the Elijah Cummings Youth Program.
Born the son of former sharecroppers, Cummings rose from humble beginnings to become a key figure in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Despite being told he belonged in a special education program as a child, he graduated from Baltimore City College High School in 1969; received his bachelor’s degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1973; and earned his law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore in 1976.
Cummings went on to work as a lawyer in private practice, became a chief judge for the Maryland Moot Court Board, served as a Maryland state delegate from 1983 to 1996 and speaker pro tempore from 1995 to 1996, then was elected in 1996 to fill the vacancy left by U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who resigned to become president of the NAACP.
Cummings served in Congress until his death, according to the U.S. House of Representatives archives.
Hours before he died, Cummings signed subpoenas related to a program to allow those with severe health issues not to be deported, according to CNN. The immigration policy known as medical deferred action had been in place until the administration revoked it over the summer.
“He worked until his last breath because he believed our democracy was the highest and best expression of our collective humanity and that our nation’s diversity was our promise, not our problem,” said his wife, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, who’s also Maryland’s Democratic Party Chair. “I love him deeply and will miss him dearly.”
Cummings is survived by his wife and three children from previous relationships, according to The Baltimore Sun, which reported he also leaves behind six siblings and a variety of nieces and nephews.