Yahoo Finance Private Memorial Service Planned for Colin Powell at Washington National Cathedral
Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage Colin Powell
A memorial service for Gen. Colin Powell is planned for Nov. 5 at the Washington National Cathedral.
"There will be very limited seating and it will be by invitation only," spokeswoman Peggy Cifrino said in an emailed statement to the Associated Press.
State funerals for four presidents — Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush — have been held at the church. The cathedral has also hosted prayer services for newly sworn-in presidents following their inaugurations.
Powell, the first Black U.S. Secretary of State and first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died Monday from complications of COVID-19 at 84.
His family said Powell, who was 84, had been fully vaccinated.
However journalist Bob Woodward said that Powell had told him in an interview that he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer that suppresses the immune system, and that he had Parkinson's.
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"We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American," the Powell family said in a statement announcing his death.
"Having repeatedly broken racial barriers, blazing a trail for others to follow in Federal Government service, Colin was committed throughout his life to investing in the next generation of leadership," President Joe Biden said in his own statement. "Above all, Colin was my friend. Easy to share a laugh with. A trusted confidant in good and hard times."
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Powell served in former President George W. Bush's Cabinet from 2001 to 2005 as the nation's top diplomat.
"Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of Colin Powell," Bush, 75, said in a statement on Monday. "He was a great public servant, starting with his time as a soldier during Vietnam. Many Presidents relied on General Powell's counsel and experience. He was National Security Adviser under President Reagan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Under my father and President Clinton, and Secretary of State during my Administration."
Cifrino did not immediately respond to an email request for comment on the planned services for Powell.
