Former Utah congresswoman Mia Love's life, voice remembered in public funeral
In the hallway to former congresswoman Mia Love's memorial on Monday, dozens of pictures immortalized countless moments of a full life; they show her hugging her children, marrying her husband Jason, giving speeches at rallies, and being unable to contain laughter.
Love was the first Black Utahn to be elected to the U.S. Congress after a career in local politics in Saratoga Springs. That made her name widely known in national politics. However, as those photos reflect, Love's family and friends remember her as the best friend, mom and aunt, and strong, influential figure for those around her.
She died on March 23 at 49 after fighting brain cancer for three years. As hundreds gathered in a Latter-day Saint chapel at the University of Utah's Institute of Religion for a public funeral, many speakers' voices cracked as they remembered stories of her life and some of the last moments they shared with Love. They also tried to honor her request to keep moments of glee in her memorial.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Former Utah Rep. Mia Love, America's first Black Republican congresswoman, dies of cancer at 49
'Mia and I periodically spoke about this moment and the potential of one of us dying early. And as we considered the possibilities again, she would take a jab at me and say, 'look at how well my family is aging. Remember Jason, black don't crack,'' Jason Love said on Monday morning prompting some laughs. 'But she made it very clear to me and to our family that she wanted this moment to be a time of celebration.'
And while, inevitably, there were some tears, Love's family and friends spent the morning quoting her jokes and full extracts of her book 'Qualified,' in which she spoke about her story as a daughter of Haitian Immigrants in New York and Connecticut. She recalled how her diverse background gave her a valuable voice, not only for issues that affect minorities, but for all issues and how women, and Black women in particular, should pursue opportunities often taken by white men.
Jason Love remembered how after 11 weeks of radiation and chemotherapy, Love insisted on recording the audio version of that book, a now on-repeat staple in his routine.
'Whether in an elected position or lobbying for policies outside a formal office, I found power in my story, and cannot help but to share it,' Mia Love read in her audio book in a special note for people in minority communities. 'The United States of America needs your voice and needs to hear your stories. You are qualified. Find your voice, lead with character and empower others to do the same.'
Love first learned about her brain tumor after experiencing migraines and excruciating pain during a family trip in Puerto Rico. After getting back to Utah, she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a highly malignant type of brain cancer. Then, doctors said she would live for 10 to 15 months.
'Mia fought cancer valiantly, and this week marks her third year anniversary from her diagnosis,' Jason Love said. 'She doubled the life expectancy, in typical Mia Love fashion.'
On March 1, Love's daughter Abigale shared in a post on X that her cancer wasn't responding to treatment and was progressing, making her family shift her focus from treatment to enjoying their remaining time together.
Hundreds come to honor Mia Love ahead of funeral
Many have since gathered at public tributes, including a viewing memorial at the Utah State Capitol on Sunday, in which her husband and children, Alessa, Abigale and Peyton greeted guests ahead of the Monday funeral as Love lay in state. After the service, there was a military service outside the chapel, with a presentation of the American flag in front of Love's casket.
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson witnessed all services from a prime spot. She and Love were close friends, bonded amid campaign conversations and a shared love of the state and the country, Henderson said during the Monday ceremony.
Henderson remembered Love's clear instructions on how to best help her during her illness.
''I'm in fight mode,' she told us, 'and what I need from you all, more than anything, is to help me fight it. This is a campaign, and we are going to win. Fight with me. Run with me. Climb that summit with me.'' Henderson said. 'And so our job was clear, no doom and gloom, no tears, although we cried many, just not in front of Mia.'
Among all speakers in the service, there were other stories representative of Love's character; when she was mayor, she made the newly appointed Saratoga Springs city manager carry her purse around as a joke. She also made Lt. Gov. Henderson buy heels in a Tampa store ahead of her speech in the Republican National Convention, which, she indicated, 'had to be tall' and had her daughter recite the pledge of allegiance in front of every American flag they encountered when she was a toddler.
Her family and friends also emphasized the message she aimed to spread during her time in public office.
'Mia's work is unfinished. It is. And she wanted each of us here today to join her. The adversaries of freedom and righteousness seek to divide us through the natural seams of our fabric of society. They know that if they apply a little bit of pressure to these natural seams of race, of religion, of gender, of income, they know that they can get us divided and they can weaken us,' Jason Love said. 'Mia and I believe that there has never been a greater time on this earth in the history of humanity. Let's listen to what Mia said.'
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
20 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
This conversation is being recorded: Trump's hot mic moment is the latest in a long global list
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Whenever I hear about a hot mic moment, my first reaction is that this is what they really think, that it's not gone through the external communications filter,' said Bill McGowan, founder and CEO of Clarity Media Group in New York. 'That's why people love it so much: There is nothing more authentic than what people say on a hot mic.' Advertisement Always assume the microphone — or camera — is turned on Hot mics, often leavened with video, have bedeviled aspiring and actual leaders long before social media. During a sound check for his weekly radio address in 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan famously joked about attacking the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Advertisement 'My fellow Americans,' Reagan quipped, not realizing the practice run was being recorded. 'I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.' The Soviet Union didn't find it funny and condemned it given the consequential subject at hand. Putin, too, has fallen prey to the perils of a live mic. In 2006, he was quoted in Russian media joking about Israel's president, who had been charged with and later was convicted of rape. The Kremlin said Putin was not joking about rape and his meaning had been lost in translation. Sometimes a hot mic moment involves no words at all. Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore was widely parodied for issuing exasperated and very audible sighs during his debate with Republican George W. Bush in 2000. In others, the words uttered for all to hear are profane. Bush was caught telling running mate Dick Cheney that a reporter for the New York Times was a 'major-league a--hole.' 'This is a big f———- deal,' then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden famously said, loudly enough to be picked up on a microphone, as President Barack Obama prepared to sign his signature Affordable Care Act in 2010. Obama was caught on camera in South Korea telling Dmitri Medvedev, then the Russian president, that he'll have 'more flexibility' to resolve sensitive issues — 'particularly with missile defense' — after the 2012 presidential election, his last. Republican Mitt Romney, Obama's rival that year, called the exchange 'bowing to the Kremlin.' Advertisement 'Sometimes it's the unguarded moments that are the most revealing of all,' Romney said in a statement, dubbing the incident 'hot mic diplomacy.' Live mics have picked up name-calling and gossip aplenty even in the most mannerly circles. In 2022, Jacinda Ardern, then New Zealand prime minister known for her skill at debating and calm, measured responses, was caught on a hot mic tossing an aside in which she referred to a rival politician as 'such an arrogant prick' during Parliament Question Time. In 2005, Jacques Chirac, then president of France, was recorded airing his distaste for British food during a visit to Russia. Speaking to Putin and Gerhard Schroder, he was heard saying that worse food could only be found in Finland, according to widely reported accounts. Britain's King Charles III chose to deal with his hot mic moment with humor. In 2022, shortly after his coronation, Charles lost his patience with a leaky pen while signing a document on a live feed. He can be heard grousing: 'Oh God I hate this!' and muttering, 'I can't bear this bloody thing … every stinking time.' It wasn't the first pen that had troubled him. The British ability to poke fun at oneself, he said in a speech the next year, is well-known. 'Just as well, you may say, given some of the vicissitudes I have faced with frustratingly failing fountain pens this past year.' Trump owns perhaps the ultimate hot mic moment The American president is famously uncontrolled in public with a penchant for 'saying it like it is,' sometimes with profanity. That makes him popular among some supporters. But even he had trouble putting a lid on comments he made before he was a candidate to 'Access Hollywood' in tapes that jeopardized his campaign in the final stretch of the 2016 presidential race. Trump did not appear to know the microphone was recording. Advertisement Trump bragged about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women who were not his wife on recordings obtained by The Washington Post and NBC News and aired just two days before his debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton. The celebrity businessman boasted 'when you're a star, they let you do it,' in a conversation with Billy Bush, then a host of the television show 'Access Hollywood.' With major supporters balking, Trump issued an apology 'if anyone was offended' and his campaign dismissed the comments as 'locker room banter.' On Monday, though, the chatter on both ends of the East Room press conference gave observers a glimpse of the diplomatic game. Dismissed unceremoniously from the White House in March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy now sat at the table with Trump and seven of his European peers: Macron, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland's President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump complimented Macron's tan. He said Stubb is a good golfer. He asked if anyone wanted to ask the press questions when the White House pool was admitted to the room — before it galloped inside. The European leaders smiled at the shouting and shuffling. Stubb asked Trump if he's 'been through this every day?' Trump replied, 'All the time.' Meloni said she doesn't want to talk to the Italian press. But Trump, she noted, is game. 'He loves it. He loves it, eh?' she said. Advertisement
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
This Texas Democrat Is Stuck Inside The Statehouse After Refusing A GOP-Mandated Law Enforcement Escort
Texas state representative Nicole Collier spent last night on the floor of the statehouse. Collier was one of more than 50 Texas Democrats who left the state earlier this month in protest of Republican-led redistricting that would likely flip five national House of Representatives seats from Democrat to Republican. Texas Democrats have described the plan as "gerrymandering," which means dividing up the district map strategically for the purpose of political gains. Related: Now that Collier and her fellow Democrats have returned to Texas, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said Monday that representatives who had warrants issued against them during their absence would not be allowed to leave the chamber without agreeing to one very specific condition. "Members who have not been present until today, for whom arrest warrants were issued, will be granted written permission to leave only after agreeing to be released into the custody of a designated [Department of Public Safety] officer appointment under the rules of the house." Collier, however, refused the escort, which led to her spending the night in the Texas statehouse. In a statement to the Fort Worth Report, Collier wrote, "I don't know how long I will be here. Instead of DPS officers looking for pedophiles, they have been assigned to follow Democratic state representatives around only to ensure their return to the Capitol on Wednesday (when the House reconvenes). I sure hope the public feels safe without those officers on beat." Related: According to Republican Rep. Charlie Geren, Collier may stay in the chamber or go to her office, but she is not allowed to leave the state capitol grounds. She is the only Democrat who refused a law enforcement escort, but other members have reportedly visited her. Online, people have a lot of thoughts about the situation. "They have a duly elected lawmaker locked in the Texas Capitol because she refused her Republican-assigned police babysitter," one person wrote. Related: In a tweet, Representative Jasmine Crockett called it "beyond outrageous," and wrote, "That's some old Jim Crow playbook. Texas Republicans have lost their damn minds." Some are calling it "kidnapping." And others are calling it "authoritarianism." Related: But others are applauding Collier for taking a stand, like this Arizona state senator who wrote simply, "American hero." As one Twitter user put it, "Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear bonnets!" Also in In the News: Also in In the News: Also in In the News:
Fox News
24 minutes ago
- Fox News
Laken Riley's mother and stepfather strongly endorse House Republican vying for U.S. Senate seat
Laken Riley's mother and stepfather endorsed Rep. Mike Collins, a House Republican running for U.S. Senate in Georgia, according to a campaign press release. Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student murdered last year by Venezuelan man Jose Ibarra, who was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. "There is simply no one else in this race who deserves to be in the U.S. Senate more than Mike Collins. He is someone who says what he means, means what he says, and actually delivers results that matter," Allyson Riley and John Phillips, said in a statement, according to the press release. Many reports have previously referred to Riley's mother as Allyson Phillips, not Allyson Riley, as the press release does. "What Mike did for our family wasn't about politics and it wasn't about attention or the spotlight. He stood up to do what was right and help bring justice for our sweet Laken. For that, our family will be forever grateful to Mike Collins, Senator Katie Britt, and President Trump," they declared in the statement. "The Laken Riley Act" was the first piece of legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law after starting his second term earlier this year. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is aiming to win re-election next year in the Peach State, voted in favor of passing the legislation. "The Biden administration and our current senators voted for open borders that allowed Laken's killer to come to the United States. They were looking out for illegal immigrants instead of looking out for their own constituents," the couple declared in their statement. Collins noted in a post on X that he is "Incredibly humbled to have the support of Laken's family in our race for U.S. Senate" and that "She is why I'm fighting—and her cause keeps me focused on what's at stake." Another House Republican, Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., is also making a bid for the Senate seat.
