Page A24 December 2022 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A tive heart failure until his death. Johnson took nitroglycerin pills for his heart routinely. On Monday, July 22, 1973, around 3:30 PM, while lying in the bedroom of his ranch, he picked up the telephone and called the guardhouse with this message, “Send Mike immediately!” Mike was his Secret Service agent who was housed in a compound 100 yards away from the main house. Johnson died in a plane headed to a San Antonio hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. As word of Johnson’s death spread across the country, people were shocked. The country had just buried Harry S. Truman not four weeks before and now there was to be another presidential funeral. Around 6:30 PM, the first call was made to the WeedCorley Funeral Home in Austin. Jack Corley had been a friend of President Johnson’s, and this call was the notice that the funeral home would be serving the Johnson family. Weed-Corley (today named Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home) had served Austin since 1886 and already had the honor of serving the families of several governors of Texas. Unlike Truman and Eisenhower, LBJ had not left many detailed instructions pertaining to his funeral. The Johnson family conferred with Laurens B. Fish, Jr., owner of the funeral home. The funeral plan was to have Johnson’s remains lie in state at both the LBJ Presidential Library and in the rotunda of the United States Capitol building. Formal funeral services would be held at the National City Christian Church in Washington where Johnson attended church. On January 23, the Johnson family arrived at the WeedCorley Funeral Home to view Johnson’s remains and have a private family prayer. The Johnson family had selected a 16-gauge Belmont “Majestic” lead-coated steel casket for the president’s burial. On the same day, the remains lay in state at the LBJ library on the University of Texas campus in Austin. The following day, the body was removed from the library and flown to Washington, DC on the same plane in which he had been sworn in as president after the Kennedy assassination. His body then lay in state in the Capitol rotunda. By Todd Van Beck Lyndon Baines Johnson had the tough job of following President John F. Kennedy. He was re-elected in 1964 with the largest popular vote recorded up to that time, but by 1968, the Vietnam War had destroyed his presidency, and his policies sharply divided the nation. Johnson announced in 1968 that he would not seek the nomination of his party in the upcoming election. On leaving office, he retired to his ranch in Johnson City, Texas. Johnson was a man whose life was punctuated by several serious medical problems. He worked 14 to 18 hours a day and suffered from kidney stones, gallbladder problems, heart problems and digestive issues. In 1955, he suffered a heart attack. Johnson was a heavy smoker and gave up the habit only to start it again one year before his death. He also consumed alcohol on a daily basis. In 1972, Johnson suffered another heart attack that left his health permanently damaged. He lived with congesLyndon B. Johnson the thirty-sixth President of the United States of America Rest in Peace, Mr. President. That was the hope...that our presidents would rest in peace, but that has not always happened. For example, between 1865 and 1901 Lincoln’s remains were moved 18 times. Funerals are a reflection of how people live their lives, and this remains true for the funerals of our U.S. presidents. This series offers a glimpse into the deaths and funerals of our presidents, while offering overdue recognition to the scores of funeral professionals who labored ceaselessly to carry out the wishes of the presidents, their families, and in some cases, the wishes of the United States government. Each account tells an interesting story. —TVB A state funeral service was held on January 25 at 10:00 AM at the National Christian (Disciples of Christ) Church in Washington. Hymns sung at the service included “Onward Christian Soldiers” and Johnson’s favorite, “In Christ There Is No East or West.” The body was then taken to Andrews Air Force Base for the return trip to Texas for burial. The plane landed at Bergstrom Air Base in Austin. The remainder of the trip was 70 miles. It was a wet, cold afternoon when the final funeral procession for Johnson began. At 4:30 PM, the final committal burial rites began in the Johnson family cemetery enclosure on the grounds of the LBJ Ranch next to the banks of the Pedernales River in the beautiful hill country of Texas. At the gravesite, Rev. Billy Graham spoke the burial ritual as eight military pallbearers held the flag taut over Johnson’s casket. A twentyone-gun salute concluded the burial ritual. Johnson’s casket was placed into a Wilbert Monticello Burial Vault. Following the committal, Mrs. Johnson invited all those who were in attendance – from the rich and famous to the simple and unknown – to come up to the house for some “vittles.” People dressed in furs and suits alongside others wearing blue jeans and cowboy boots all stood in line together for roast beef sandwiches, potato salad, and coffee. Lady Bird did the serving. F U N E R A L H O M E & C E M E T E R Y N E W S w w w . N o m i s P u b l i c a t i o n s . c o m Monthly Columnsonline at Todd W. Van Beck is the Director of Professional Development at Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science where he began his career 40 years ago. He is one of the best known and most wellregarded practitioners, educators, writers and speakers in the funeral profession. On May 30, 2018 Van Beck celebrated 50 years in funeral service. You can reach Todd at 615-327-3927. Rest In Peace, Mr. President Free Supplies. 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Lounge at the Austin Location Dining Room at the Austin Location family for generations, and I am confident that his family’s character will exceed our customers’ expectations.” Because Harrell is family-owned, they are not preoccupied with meeting corporate goals. Their sole focus is on providing service that exceeds their customers’ expectations. “We have mapped out the journey our families walk after death when they choose our funeral home, and we are committed to providing something extra through every step of the process,” said Jason. “For example, most Continued from Page A18 Harrell Funeral Home Continued on page A28 funeral homes do not have a strategy to assist customers after the funeral service is over. Harrell takes a multifaceted approach which includes providing personal assistance in closing out non-legal estate matters and helping assist families as they navigate the grieving process.” Harrell started providing an estate specialist to help each family for no charge because they learned that 82% of widows, depending on income, were missing out on benefits or being underpaid or not paid at all. With the help of the estate specialist, families can now accomplish in 1-2 weeks what takes many families 14-18 months to achieve. Their Estate Specialists make sure families are protected from fraud and do not give their information to people who will take advantage of them. In addition, they know who to contact, therefore saving families lots of time and the agony of doing something incorrectly. Waldrope-Hatfield-Hawthorne Funeral Home performs burials for about 60 percent of its customers and has the largest chapel gathering space in the Llano community. Harrell Funeral Home has plans to update the chapel and administrative building to provide the community with a beautiful new environment to gather. They will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony once the facility updates are complete. In addition, Harrell is changing the names of the Waldrope-Hatfield-Hawthorne Funeral Home and Putnam Funeral Home in Kingsland to Harrell Funeral Home. “Although we fully intend to preserve the legacy of each acquired funeral home’s founding fathers, we feel it is necessary to adapt to the changing landscape,” said Jason. “Families need a partner prepared for the challenges ahead, investing in their staff, and setting industry trends. We believe we can do this most effectively under one umbrella brand providing innovative services.”
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