When Jodi Rell was installed as governor in July 2004, she said her first step was to restore the state after the resignation of Governor John G. Rowland over a corruption scandal.
As part of that new era in Connecticut, Rell held an unusual open house at the State Capitol in Hartford, standing in the atrium for three hours to personally shake hands with average voters. It is known that she stood so long that she took off her high heels and stood there in her stocking feet.
Now Rell, who died on November 20 at the age of 78 after a short illness, will lie in state at the Capitol, near the same place where she held the open house. The public is invited to visit the Capitol next Tuesday, December 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to pay their respects.
Shortly thereafter, a Mass of Christian Burial will be held at the nearby Cathedral of St. Joseph on Farmington Avenue in Hartford on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
Longtime Republican Chris Healy, who served as chairman of the state Republican Party for part of Rell’s 6½ years as president, said Rell had a common trait of always reaching out to voters.
“Her openness, candor, generosity and decency were her calling cards,” Healy said in an interview. “She hit that note at the beginning of her very challenging moment in history, and did it quite effortlessly. She continued to do so throughout her governorship, no matter what situation arose. She was open, friendly and accommodating to everyone in the process. … The tone she took at the time and her ability to lead immediately led to a historic re-election.”
At the open house on July 15, 2004, nearly 1,000 well-wishers – ranging from the elderly and young families with children to state employees and politicians – greeted their new governor in an event later repeated before smaller crowds in Stamford, Danbury. Bristol, Middletown, New Haven, Waterbury and Meriden. She also restarted the radio program “Ask the Governor,” where callers could talk directly to the governor about government issues.
“Holding these open houses is a small but important way for me to express my deep gratitude to the people of Connecticut,” Rell said at the time. “I am humbled to be a steward of the public’s trust, and I look forward to greeting all who pass by.”
Rare in Connecticut
Lying in state is a great honor that is relatively rare in Connecticut. Democrat Ella Grasso, the first female elected governor in the United States, was the last governor to receive this honor in 1981.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nelson Brown, a beloved figure in the Capitol who continued to lobby on freedom of information issues into his 80s, lay in state in September 2011. Hundreds of friends and mourners of all political stripes passed his casket and spoke of Brown’s sympathetic nature. made him the youngest Speaker of the House of Representatives in Connecticut history in 1957 at the age of 35.
Current House Speaker Matt Ritter of Hartford said there was a request on behalf of the Rell family, and it was approved by Ritter and Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney of New Haven — the two top leaders overseeing the operations at the Capitol.
“It was an easy decision for me,” Ritter told De Courant. “She started her career with an open house at the Capitol, so her friends and family saw fit to lie in state and then attend the funeral. It is a very beautiful story.”
Without a formal policy, Ritter said the honor would depend on requests from family members and could extend to officials such as longtime U.S. senators and members of Congress.
“Certainly, Governor Rell’s request was quite simple,” Ritter said. “I got a call from [longtime chief of staff] Lisa Moody on Sunday. I was watching football. She asked and I said, “Of course.” It only took ten seconds to say “Sure.” ”
Burial will be private at a later date at the Connecticut State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown. She will be buried next to her husband Lou Rell, an experienced commercial pilot and U.S. Navy veteran.
Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
