The funeral for former U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords will be held at the Grace Congregational United Church of Christ in Rutland.
Senator Jim Jeffords, a Rutland native, retired from the U.S. Senate after the 2006 election following more than 30 years in Washington, first in the U.S. House and then 18 years in the Senate. He died Monday in Washington at age 80.
In 2001 he left the Republican Party, becoming an independent and in the process shifted control of the Senate to the Democrats. Democrat Representative Peter Welch remembers Jeffords fondly. “He had a character of granite. He had to make this decision that was cataclysmic in the world of politics.”
Funeral services will be held on Friday at 11 a.m.
Officials at the Clifford Funeral Home in Rutland say there will be no calling hours and burial will be private.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved.
