SALT LAKE CIY — Family, friends and colleagues celebrated the life of Sen. Orrin Hatch on Friday, reflecting on his legacy of public service, dedication to family, love of people and devotion to God.

There were many laughs among the tears as speakers shared stories not just about his many years as a U.S. senator but as a husband, father and friend during the service at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Institute of Religion in Salt Lake City.

"He really was larger than life," said his daughter Marcia Hatch Whetton.

Among the several hundred people gathered for the funeral were current and former U.S. and Utah political leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency.

Hatch, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate and the longest-serving senator from Utah, died April 23 at age 88. He was first elected in 1976 and served 42 years in the Senate until retiring after his seventh term in 2019.

He received full military honors outside the institute building before a funeral procession made its way to Newton in Cache County, where Hatch will be buried in the hometown of his wife, Elaine. Gov. Spencer Cox presented Elaine Hatch the flag that had draped her husband's casket during the funeral.

Much of the 90-minute memorial service focused on Hatch as a person, not as a politician. Speakers related anecdotes about his kindness to strangers, sense of humor, hard work and frugality. They also talked about his deep faith in Jesus Christ and how devout he was to his religion.

"He really was a friend to so many," Whetton said. "He often commented on how very much he loved this country, the state of Utah and all of the people in Utah, and he definitely felt it was an honor to serve."

Hatch's son Brent Hatch said his father lived two lives — his own and one for his older brother Jesse, who was killed in World War II. Orrin Hatch was so shocked at the news of his brother's death that it caused a white streak in his hair that never went away, Brent Hatch said. It served as a constant reminder of his commitment to his brother.

"He lived an amazing life. He was not perfect but he never gave up. He truly lived his life as living for two." Brent Hatch said.

McConnell said Hatch engaged in bipartisan efforts to lift up the vulnerable, pointing to acts passed to help with children's health insurance, Americans with disabilities, generic drugs, HIV/AIDS and the suicide lifeline.

Respected Utah senator

Hundreds visit Utah Capitol to honor Orrin Hatch — senator, father, friend

The late Sen. Orrin Hatch lay in state in the Utah Capitol rotunda on Wednesday. He is only the fifth to have the honor and the first federally elected Utah official.

"Orrin took his legislation to the same place where our Savior took his ministry: to the margins, to the periphery, serving the 'least of these,'" he said.

Hatch was famous for the prolific handwritten thank-you notes he sent to all kinds of people, including Utah Jazz players for a big win. He said the notes reflected his respect for the dignity of everyone.

"So much of Orrin's character is captured in that habit," McConnell said.

The notes also were indicative of Hatch's legislation, McConnell said. "Every bill was an Orrin Hatch thank-you note to our nation," he said.

Hatch never looked down on anyone, and more likely he would have split a hot dog with a guy and talked for hours, McConnell said.

Hatch's affinity for Costco hot dogs because they're cheap is well known. Whetton said her father's favorite restaurant was Chuck-A-Rama, a Utah all-you-can-eat buffet. He even took high-profile people to eat there. And he always told his fellow diners to eat a lot so they would get their money's worth, she said.

Former Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith recalled taking Hatch to a clothier in London to buy a new suit to help recapture the title a magazine bestowed on him as the best-dressed member of Congress. When he learned it would cost 2,000 British pounds, he ended the transaction and said he would win back the title with the help of Mr. Mac, a Salt Lake City clothing store known for outfitting Latter-day Saint missionaries.

Smith said it wasn't inevitable or predictable that Hatch would become one of the greatest legislators in the country. He had no government experience when he went to Washington and had an early reputation as a conservative ideologue. Every legislator is faced with a choice about what kind of legislator they will be, from a noisemaker to a deal-maker to a peacemaker, he said.

"To be sure, Orrin made his share of noise," he said. "But Orrin had the humility and the wisdom to be a student of the Senate, too. That led him to listen and to learn."

Hatch had an "ecumenical heart," Smith said. Though devoted to his faith, he respected others' beliefs.

"Orrin's love of God caused him to be active in loving his neighbors, all in keeping with first and second great commandments," he said, adding he saw Hatch's compassion personally in the form of letters, songs he composed and long walks after the death of one his children.

"Orrin wasn't a perfect man, just an extraordinarily good one," Smith said.

President Oaks said he first met Hatch 50 years ago. Both of their families came from pioneering roots and settled in what is now Vernal in southeastern Utah in 1879. It was known as Hatchtown back then, he said.

"What happened to Orrin Hatch after our first meeting 50 years ago is well known and already reviewed," President Oaks said. "I add only our longtime friendship and frequent contacts and work on subjects of common and public interest. Now, born two years apart and tracing our ancestry through the same small Utah town, Orrin and I come together for what I like to refer to as Orrin G. Hatch's graduation from mortality, with highest honors."

Cox noted that there were 1 million residents in Utah when Hatch was elected and 3 million when he retired. That puts into perspective "the depth and breadth of his service," Cox said.

"For many people across the nation, the thing they know about Utah is Sen. Hatch, their interactions with him. And I don't think there's anybody, if we had to pick someone, that I would rather have represent the state for that long of a time, in so many different ways," the governor told reporters before the funeral.

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