Here Are John Dingell's Funeral Arrangements In Dearborn

MICHIGAN — Former Congressman John Dingell, who died Thursday night at the age of 92, will be honored with a visitation and funeral in Dearborn Dingell retired in 2015 as the nation's longest-serving congressman.

Visitation will be held 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center on Michigan Avenue and the event is open to the public. The funeral mass will take place at 11 a.m. Feb. 12 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and will also be public.

Dingell will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Those details have not yet been released.

The longtime congressman was hospitalized in September after a heart attack and entered hospice care in February, according to sources close to the family.

He was married to Rep. Debbie Dingell, who succeeded him as the 12th district representative, for nearly 40 years. He referred to her as his “lovely Deborah.”

“To all our friends. My heart is broken,” Debbie Dingell shared. “My true love is gone. The tears are flowing pretty freely as I miss the man that made me whole. One can know it is coming, but nothing prepares you for the whole in your heart. He was my one and only true love. Know he loved everyone of you and was proud to call you friend. D2.”

Dingell was a Democrat from Dearborn and retired at the end of his 29th term, making him the longest-serving member ever of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to Congress in a special election to fill his father's unexpired term.

During his more than half-century in office, he built a legacy as one of the most powerful members of Congress. He was considered the "dean of the House" because of his long tenure.

Dingell recently released an autobiography, "The Dean, the Best Seat in the House."
He surpassed the late U.S. Rep Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia as the longest-serving congressman.

His legacy included work on landmark legislation such as the Civil Rights Act, the Medicare health-care program for seniors, the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species acts, and the Affordable Care Act. He had been a stalwart supporter of Michigan's auto industry, defeating or tempering air pollution and safety rules that he said excessively raised costs.

Just like his father, Dingell supported universal healthcare for every American citizen and he liked to open each session of Congress by proposing it. He was a classic social Democrat who believed that Social Security and Medicare were examples of government at its best.

One factor he cited in his decision to retire from the 12th District in 2014 was his continued frustration with partisan gridlock. During the partial government shutdown that October, he delivered a fiery speech on the House floor and said he had "never seen such small-minded miserable behavior in this House of Representatives and such a disregard of our responsibilities to the people."

"The American people could get better government out of monkey island in the local zoo," he said at the time. "I'm embarrassed and I'm humiliated, and I certainly hope that my colleagues on both sides — especially on the Republican side — are embarrassed. This is going to cost us huge amounts of money."

He was also outspoken about hated, bigotry and racism in the country, especially in recent years.
“I signed up to fight Nazis 73 years ago and I'll do it again if I have to,” he tweeted in 2017. “Hatred, bigotry, & fascism should have no place in this country.”

Dingell also loved to use humor in his tweets and interviews. Upon retiring in 2014 he took a spill and said he “bruised his hip and ego.” Then in 2015, he underwent two surgeries and tweeted, “being old sucks.”

Being an avid Twitter user, he even dictated his final tweets to his wife, including a message telling supporters, “you’re not done with me yet” the day it was announced that he had entered hospice care.

He was an avid outdoorsmen and a passionate environmentalist.

His legacy was celebrated by President Barack Obama, who saw to it that he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian distinction.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)