‘Goodbye, my friends’: Melissa and Mark Hortman remembered in emotional funeral

Funeral services for former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were held Saturday morning at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, after the couple were killed in what officials have described as a politically motivated assassination.

Former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris attended the services and sat next to Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz.

Hortman, a Democrat from Brooklyn Park, led the House Democrats for eight years — first as minority leader and then as speaker — and was known among her colleagues as tough and kind, funny and unafraid.

The private funeral was streamed and is retroactively accessible on the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s YouTube page. The service comes one day after thousands of mourners paid their respects to the couple as they lay in state in the rotunda of the Minnesota Capitol. The Department of Public Safety estimated more than 7,000 people attended. Hortman was the first woman in Minnesota history to lie in state, joined by her husband and their golden retriever, Gilbert, who was injured in the shooting and later euthanized. He was protected throughout the day by a canine honor guard.

Follow live updates below:

1:15 p.m. - Read excerpts from the eulogies for Melissa and Mark Hortman from the funeral.

— Kinnia Cheuk

12:55 p.m. - A state trooper presented Gov. Tim Walz with the American and Minnesota flags that flew over the State Capitol the day of Melissa and Mark Hortman’s murder. As rain gently came down on the crowd, Walz solemnly turned and presented the flags to the Hortmans’ children, Colin and Sophie.

They were also presented with a firefighter’s ax previously given to Melissa Hortman by the Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters Association. The bells at the Basilica rang out as the hearses bearing the Hortmans pulled away and tearful mourners hugged one another on the church steps.

— Allison Kite

12:50 p.m. - After the service concluded, the bells of the Basilica rang again as pallbearers brought the caskets of Melissa and Mark Hortman out of the church in a somber procession and placed them in hearses waiting outside.

— Anna Sago

12:48 p.m. - Melissa and Mark Hortman’s son, Colin, read the prayer of St. Francis, which Melissa kept in her wallet and never left her side. It exemplified the “Golden Rule” for her, he said.

— Kinnia Cheuk

12:46 p.m. - Robin Ann Williams, a close friend to the Hortmans, said she knew the couple long enough to be there for Colin’s first words, trips overseas together and countless dinners in the kitchen of their Brooklyn Park home.

As Melissa’s political career progressed, she would go to the White House or the governor’s mansion for events and then come back home and share Indian takeout with Williams and their spouses. She was like a balloon, Williams said, tethered to the ground by Mark.

“We are buried in sorrow right now,” Williams said. “But I do believe that we will experience joy again. And Mark and Melissa would not want it in any other way. Goodbye, my friends.”

— Nathaniel Minor

12:15 p.m. - In his eulogy, Gov. Tim Walz offered his condolences to relatives of Mark and Melissa Hortman and remembered them for their “leadership, strength and kindness.”

Melissa, he said, will be remembered as the “most consequential speaker” in the state’s history and credited her for shepherding bills into law that expanded funding for transportation and public education, free lunches for students, and other legislative achievements.

“I know that millions of Minnesotans get to live better lives because she and Mark chose public service and politics,” he said.

Melissa was an effective lawmaker because she saw and respected the humanities in others, Walz said. She sparred with her opponents, but also offered grace when the moment called for it.

He closed by calling on Minnesotans to embrace the Hortmans’ approach to politics, and to life itself: by living “fiercely, enthusiastically, heartily, but without ever losing sight of our common humanity.”

“We are not always going to get it right,” he concluded. “After all, we’re only human. But the best way to honor these remarkable Minnesotans is to continue the work of building a state equal to their aspirations and a politics worthy of their example.”

— Nathaniel Minor

12:02 p.m. - Archbishop Bernard Anthony Hebda offered closing remarks toward the end of the Mass, telling the Hortmans’ children, Sophie and Colin, they are in the church’s prayers.

“Today, we are all suffering along with you,” he said, “but pledging you our prayers and asking God’s mercy and forgiveness on Mark and Melissa.”

— Nathaniel Minor

11:36 a.m. - Melissa Hortman’s life and work were shaped by her Catholic faith, the Rev. Dan Griffith told attendees in his homily. Catholic social teaching says authority should be oriented to the common good, he said, and Hortman embodied that.

“Melissa manifested a servant’s heart,” he said.

As he closed, Griffith told the Hortmans’ children, Colin and Sophie, that they would continue to feel their parents’ presence throughout their lives.

“In big moments in your life. And in small, quiet moments. They will continue to be present to you,” Griffith said.

— Nathaniel Minor

11:25 a.m. - The Rev. Dan Griffith delivered a homily for the Hortmans and described Minnesota as “the ground zero place, sadly, for racial injustice, the killing of George Floyd just miles from our church today. And now we are the ground zero place for political violence and extremism.”

“Both of these must be decried in the strongest possible terms as they are, respectively, a threat to human dignity and indeed our democracy. Sadly racial disparities, some of the most acute in the country, persist here in Minnesota, with modest gains in some areas and widening gaps in others over the last five years,” he continued. “Minnesotans, this can be a … ground zero place for restoration and justice and healing, but we must work together and there is much more work to be done. Your presence is a sign that we can do that work."

— Alyssa Koh

11:03 a.m. - The Basilica of St. Mary posted a copy of the program for the funeral service. See the full program here.

— David Taintor

10:53 a.m. - Pallbearers including Gov. Tim Walz, state Rep. Zack Stephenson and the Hortmans’ son, Colin, guided the caskets to the front of the Basilica. Mourners throughout the cathedral, including people who knew Hortman inside the Capitol and out, wept.

Family members trailed behind the pallbearers, some of them cupping their hands over their mouths as they wept.

— Ryan Faircloth

10:38 a.m. - Mourners rose as former President Joe Biden entered the Basilica and took a seat among the front-row pews.

— Ryan Faircloth

10:31 a.m. - Former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris attended the funeral Saturday for House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, drawing appreciation from Minnesota lawmakers across the political spectrum.

GOP Sen. Julia Coleman said in a post on social media Friday evening that Biden’s visit to the Minnesota Capitol to pay respects as the Hortmans lay in state acknowledged that “a political assassination is an attack on our state’s heart, no matter our politics or place” and “demonstrated humanity over partisanship.”

She encouraged President Donald Trump and other GOP leaders to attend the service. Trump was not expected to join.

“Our state is shattered, anxious, and in need of healing,” Coleman said. “This isn’t about votes or power, rather honoring a life dedicated to service and showing Minnesotans we can-and we must-rise above disrespect and division. Tomorrow can represent a new path forward, but it takes all of us being there.”

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon remarked that Biden’s visit demonstrated “decency in action.”

— Allison Kite

10:23 a.m. - Mourners are seated, the mood is somber and the Basilica is quiet. The sound of people sniffling echoes throughout. Some are wiping their eyes as they await the start of the service. Gov. Tim Walz and state Rep. Zack Stephenson are among a group of pallbearers who are huddled by the caskets at the back of the cathedral.

— Ryan Faircloth

10:05 a.m. - Bells toll on the hour at the Basilica of St. Mary as the last of a column of mourners enters the church for the Hortmans’ funeral. Services are expected to start at 10:30 a.m. and include remarks from Gov. Tim Walz and a friend of the Hortmans.

— Allison Kite

10 a.m. - Pews inside the ornate Basilica are quickly filling up. More than a dozen bouquets with condolence letters attached are displayed at the back of the cathedral, signed by unions, tribal nations, GOP and DFL legislative caucuses, and members of Congress including U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and Brad Finstad. Pictures of Melissa and Mark Hortman and their beloved golden retriever, Gilbert, are also on display.

— Ryan Faircloth

9:44 a.m. - Hundreds of mourners are filing into the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis for the funeral of Melissa and Mark Hortman. The line to get in snakes around the block and includes countless legislators, past and present, DFL and GOP. Dozens of Hortman’s House colleagues have come to pay their respects, including Speaker Lisa Demuth, as have many senators, including Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy and Senate President Bobby Joe Champion.

Outside the Basilica, two Minneapolis Fire Department trucks sit with ladders raised to hold a massive American flag. Traffic is diverted around a secure perimeter in anticipation of former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ attendance. Roughly 1,400 mourners are expected to attend the services.

— Ryan Faircloth and Allison Kite

9:30 a.m. - Melissa Hortman, whose parents ran an auto parts store, often said she grew up “on a junkyard in Anoka County.”

It’s clear, say her friends, peers and political opponents, that the achievements of her 20-year political career are deserving of reverence.

Former GOP Rep. Pat Garofalo of Farmington said Hortman was “indisputably the most consequential and impactful speaker of the House in Minnesota history.”

In 2023, Hortman presided over a legislative session that produced long-sought Democrat wins including paid family leave, gun control, abortion rights, clean energy goals, more spending on education and free school lunches. More recently, the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Jessie Van Berkel wrote in a recent piece about Hortman’s political legacy, she gave up her speaker’s gavel this year to resolve a bitter political fight in an equally divided House. The difficult legislative session that followed ended with Hortman taking a gut-wrenching vote to end health care coverage for adult undocumented immigrants in order to preserve a budget compromise.

“I did what leaders do,” Hortman said after the dust settled, and just days before she was killed in her own home. “I stepped up, and I got the job done for the people of Minnesota.”

— Nathaniel Minor

9 a.m. - The I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis will be lit up in green again on Saturday evening to honor Melissa Hortman. Hennepin County also announced that the Lowry Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis, which was lit in green Friday night, will be green again Saturday in honor of Hortman. Green was said to be her favorite color and symbolizes her commitment to environmental issues.

— David Taintor