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Memorial services for Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) are being scheduled in Cleveland after the Democratic National Convention, according to her congressional office. Nothing has been finalized, but a spokeswoman for the late congresswoman said that Saturday, Aug. 30 is being eyed as the likely date for a service to pay tribute to the Cleveland native, who died Wednesday after suffering a brain aneurysm. “We’re trying to find the right time to bring everyone together,” said Tubbs Jones’s spokeswoman Nicole Williams. “Right now our biggest challenge is finding a venue big enough to hold everyone who will want to be here. She was just so important to so many people.” Democratic officials were busy Wednesday planning for a tribute to Tubbs Jones, which is likely to be included in the program for next week’s convention, although no details were available. Officials said New York senator and former presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) — who was a close friend to Tubbs Jones — will likely be personally involved. Clinton joined her husband and former President Bill Clinton and her daughter Chelsea in issuing a joint statement on Tubbs Jones’s death, in which they described her as “one of a kind” and a true friend. “Stephanie's friendship meant the world to us, a friendship that deepened through every trial and challenge,” said the Clintons. “We could always count on her to be a shoulder on which to lean, an ear to bend, a voice to reassure. Over the course of many years, with many ups and many downs, Stephanie was right by our side — unwavering, indefatigable.” Williams said also that Tubbs Jones’s colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus and the Ohio delegation may be involved in a Denver tribute, and will likely take the lead — along with House Democratic Whip James Clyburn (S.C.) — in organizing a memorial to be held in Washington, likely after Labor Day. The 58-year-old Tubbs Jones on Tuesday night suffered an aneurysm that burst in an inaccessible area of her brain. She was found by Cleveland police unconscious behind the wheel of her car and rushed to Huron Hospital. She remained in critical condition with “limited brain function” until she was taken off life support on Wednesday evening. Her doctors pronounced her dead at 6:12 p.m. on Wednesday. According to Williams, Tubbs Jones’s surviving relatives — including her son, Mervyn Jones II — had no immediate plans to hold a private ceremony or burial service prior to Aug. 30. |
