Service to honor the life of the late Dale E. Kildee planned for Dec. 12 in Flint – mlive.com

FLINT, MI -- Residents can pay their respects to the late Dale E. Kildee, who served as the Flint areas congressman for more than 30 years, in a community memorial service later this month in Flint.

Kildee, a Democrat, who had the sixth-highest seniority in the U.S. House of Representatives when he announced he would not seek re-election a decade ago, died at age 92 on Oct. 13.

His family announced the memorial in a news release Friday, Dec. 3, and said tribal, education, environmental, labor and faith leaders, as well as the Kildee family, will speak about the late congressman life and career during the service, which is scheduled from 5 to 6:30 p.m., Dec. 12, at the Flint Institute of Arts, 1120 E. Kearsley St.

The memorial service is open to the public and free to attend.

People wishing to attend are asked to RSVP by email at RSVP@dankildee.com or by calling 810-238-8627.

Kildee, a former Flint school teacher and the son of an assembly line worker at Buick, had deep roots in Flint and became one of the most recognizable public figures in the citys history.

He won his first election to the state House of Representatives in 1964, was elected to Congress in 1976, and was re-elected 17 straight times.

(He) was always proud that he was from Flint, the birthplace of the modern labor movement. Throughout his work, Dale was kind, humble and dedicated to his constituents, his nephew Dan Kildee said after his uncles death. Dale never forgot who he worked for or the constituents who sent him to Congress. And Dale always brought civility and kindness to the political debate, something that we all could learn from today.

Dan Kildee, D-Flint Twp., replaced his uncle in Congress and is currently chief deputy whip of the House Democratic Caucus.

Dale Kildee was born on Sept. 16, 1929, in Flint, the second-youngest of five children of Timothy and Norma Kildee. He grew up on the citys east side, first at a home on New York Avenue and then on Jane Avenue.

He cast more than 20,000 votes as a congressman and had a voting attendance record of more than 99 percent since arriving in Washington in 1977.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a statement on her website, called Kildees death the sad loss of a leader who embodied the noble spirit of public service. "

As an educator, a state legislator and a congressman, Dale Kildee lifted up the students and families of his beloved hometown of Flint for nearly six decades, the statement said. Personally, I had the great privilege of serving alongside Dale in the House for more than a quarter-century, where I witnessed first-hand his devotion to service, legendary work ethic and extraordinary humility and kindness.

Kildee is survived by his wife Gayle, their three children -- Paul, Laura and David -- and their many grandchildren.

Read more:

Dale Kildee, who represented Flint area in Congress for 36 years, dies at 92

Dale Kildee remembered for kindness, decency and tireless work ethic by Whitmer, Pelosi and others

From an early age, U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee had appetite for politics; Flint Democrat to retire after term runs out in 2012

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Service to honor the life of the late Dale E. Kildee planned for Dec. 12 in Flint - mlive.com