Colin Powell.Photo: Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage
A memorial service forGen. Colin Powellis planned for Nov. 5 at theWashington National Cathedral.
State funerals for four presidents — Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush — have been held at the church. The cathedral has also hostedprayer services for newly sworn-in presidentsfollowing their inaugurations.
Powell, the first Black U.S. Secretary of State and first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died Monday from complications ofCOVID-19at 84.
His family said Powell, who was 84, had been fully vaccinated.
However journalistBob Woodwardsaid that Powell had told him in an interview that he wasdiagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer that suppresses the immune system, and that he had Parkinson’s.
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“We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” the Powell family said in a statement announcing his death.
“Having repeatedly broken racial barriers, blazing a trail for others to follow in Federal Government service, Colin was committed throughout his life to investing in the next generation of leadership,” PresidentJoe Bidensaid in his ownstatement. “Above all, Colin was my friend. Easy to share a laugh with. A trusted confidant in good and hard times.”
Powell served in former President George W. Bush’s Cabinet from 2001 to 2005 as the nation’s top diplomat.
Cifrino did not immediately respond to an email request for comment on the planned services for Powell.
source: people.com
