President Bush paid tribute Thursday to the “far too brief” life of former White House press secretary Tony Snow, who was laid to rest after succumbing to cancer Saturday at age 53.
Bush was among thousands of politicians, journalists, family and friends who attended a lengthy and emotional funeral Mass for Snow at the cavernous Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the District. At one point the president spoke directly to Snow’s children, Kendall, Robbie and Kristi.
“He loved you a lot,” Bush said. “I hope you know we loved him a lot, too.”
The president said Snow, who rose to fame at the Fox News Channel, had “amassed a rare record of accomplishment.”
“He knew the job of a reporter was vigorous. He understood the profession and always treated it with respect,” Bush said. “We will always remember his wry sense of humor and abundant goodness. We will also remember he was lots of fun.”
Mourners nodded knowingly at an enlarged photo of Snow in a typical pose — smiling behind the podium of the James S. Brady press briefing room. On Wednesday evening, scores of other Snow photos were displayed during a memorial service at Demaine Funeral Home in Alexandria.
Several of those photos were from Snow’s college days and showed him sporting long, wild hair and a bushy beard. The images prompted chuckles from those who knew the conservative commentator.
“That must have been his Marxist phase,” one journalist quipped to another.
At Thursday’s funeral, the homily was delivered by the Very Rev. David M. O’Connell, president of the adjacent Catholic University.
“The measure of this man’s life can be found in his character, in his optimism, in his joy and humor, in his courage, in his passion for what was good and right, and in his love for God and family and neighbor and country,” O’Connell said. “Tony Snow did not need a long life for us to measure. It was, rather, we who needed his life to be longer.”
Those in attendance included Brit Hume, managing editor of Fox’s D.C. bureau, and his wife, Kim, former bureau chief, as well as Chris Wallace, who succeeded Snow as host of “Fox News Sunday.” Former White House officials Karl Rove and Andrew Card were also on hand.
Snow’s survivors include his wife, Jill Ellen Walker, father, Jim Snow, and stepmother, Dottie Snow.
