Rep. Smith Is Remembered as Man of Compassion at Funeral Mass

BILOXI, Miss. —  Rep. Larkin Smith “had feelings and compassion for others” and often joked about death, his wife said Thursday at a funeral Mass for the freshman Mississippi congressman.

“I watched him weep over many of life’s tragedies,” Sheila Smith said of her husband, who died Sunday in a plane crash.

Mrs. Smith said she and her husband “always joked about death” and “he wanted his epitaph to read, ‘Mission aborted, gone home.’ ”

Mrs. Smith stood with her daughter Tracy and 6-month-old grandson Bryce Anthony. “Larkin loved his family,” she said. “He always held my hand and held me close to him. He always made me feel special.”

Bishop Joseph Howze of the Biloxi Diocese, who delivered the eulogy, said Smith “lived a life of faith, hope and love in following after the pattern set by Christ.”

The 45-year-old Republican was killed as he traveled to his home in Gulfport from Hattiesburg, where he had thrown out the first pitch in a youth baseball series. His body was found Monday with that of pilot Chuck Vierling, 58.