Connecticut to honor life of former Gov. M. Jodi Rell with Hartford funeral

Funeral services for former Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who died on Nov. 20 at the age of 78, are being held Tuesday in Hartford. Rell, a Republican, led the state from July 2004 to 2011.

The public may pay respects to the late governor from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Connecticut state Capitol in Hartford. A mass for Rell will follow at 2:30 p.m. in the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, located at 140 Farmington Ave.

Traffic is expected to be impacted in Hartford by the large attendance. Farmington Avenue will be closed between Broad Street and Sigourney Street from about 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., police said.

A leader of ‘honesty and openness’

Rell was Connecticut’s second female governor and took the role at a difficult time. She was lieutenant governor when former Gov. John Rowland abruptly resigned in 2004 during a corruption investigation.

“I worked hard every day, and I sought to do things because I wanted to do them right and for the right reasons,” Rell said when her official governor’s portrait was unveiled in 2013.

“She governed with honesty and openness,” former Republican State Sen. John McKinney said at the 2013 unveiling event. “She governed with class and character, and that, to me, is the great legacy of Jodi Rell.”

Several current and former lawmakers shared a similar sentiment following her death. Gov. Ned Lamont credited Rell with bringing stability to the state’s government – and rebuilding trust with residents.

“The Jodi Rell that the people of Connecticut saw in public was the Jodi Rell that she was in real life — calm, rational, caring, approachable, and devoted to her family and to her state,” Lamont said in a statement after her death.

Rell was a longtime Brookfield, Connecticut, resident. Prior to becoming lieutenant governor, she represented Brookfield in the state House of Representatives. She was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and attended Old Dominion University and Western Connecticut State University.

Private burial planned

Lamont’s office said Rell will be laid to rest at another date in a private ceremony at the Connecticut State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, alongside her husband, Lou Rell, who was a veteran of the U.S. Navy.

Flags, which had been flying at half-staff since Rell’s death was announced, will return to full-staff at sunset Tuesday evening.

This story will be updated. Connecticut Public Radio’s Patrick Skahill contributed to this report.