Published: May 12, 2006 11:48 pm      

Memorial service Tuesday

MERIDIAN — He had the ear of presidents, prime ministers and kings, and he captured the hearts of the people he represented along the way.

Retired U.S. Rep. Gillespie V. “Sonny” Montgomery, 85, of Meridian, who represented Mississippi’s 3rd District in Congress as a conservative Democrat for 15 terms, died Friday morning at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.

Visitation will be held Monday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the main aircraft hangar of the 186th Air Refueling Wing of the Mississippi Air National Guard at Key Field. Those attending are asked to enter through the 65th Avenue gate.

A public memorial service will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the Temple Theatre in downtown Meridian, followed by burial in Magnolia Cemetery.

Montgomery often said he considered his greatest legacy to be his love of people.

“As I look back in life, I’ve always been very fond of people,” Montgomery said during a 2004 interview. “The fact that I like people has made it a lot easier for me. I like people from all walks of life. I could relate to different people.”

His love of people showed in his work, a long career of public service, which included 30 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Montgomery G.I. Bill, which he authored, has provided college financial assistance to more than 2 million veterans. The bill revamped the original G.I. Bill passed shortly after World War II, extending benefits to soldiers, including those who served in the National Guard.

Montgomery worked to strengthen Reserve and National Guard forces and to provide veterans with better health care, low-income home loans and educational opportunities. He also fought tirelessly to keep military bases safe from closure in Mississippi.

He asked his constituents for their opinions on the issues, and more important, listened to them when they spoke. He also campaigned even when he didn’t have competition.

Always eager to serve, Montgomery was a decorated Army veteran who served during World War II and the Korean War. He was a retired major general in the Mississippi Army National Guard, and even faced the dangers of combat in 1984 as a congressman when his helicopter was shot at while he observed presidential elections in El Salvador at the request of President Reagan.

In his autobiography, Sonny Montgomery: The Veteran’s Champion, published by University Press of Mississippi, he reflected on his political and personal life, particularly the friendships he forged along the way.

Montgomery collected many honors during his lifetime, the latest being the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to him by President Bush in November.

“His forward-looking spirit helped to equip and train the finest fighting force in the world,” Bush said on the occasion in the East Room of the White House. “And the Montgomery G.I. education bill has helped millions of veterans find opportunity in the nation they defend.”

The Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Jackson is named in Montgomery’s honor; so is the National Guard complex in Meridian, the Navy Reserve Center at Naval Air Station Meridian and a Lauderdale County industrial park.

The Montgomery Institute, named for his legacy of leadership, operates in East Mississippi and West Alabama to help develop leadership skills among citizens and to promote strategic thinking for the betterment of communities in the region.

Affectionately known as “Mr. Veteran” on Capitol Hill and after his congressional service, Sonny Montgomery’s greatest legacy may actually be all the people who love him.

Free parking available during funeral service

The city of Meridian announced Friday that those attending the funeral of G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery at the Temple

Theatre on Tuesday, at 2 p.m., can park free in the Arts District Parking Garage.

The free parking will begin at 11 a.m. to give attendees time to park and be seated before the funeral begins. The garage is at Eighth Street and 24th Avenue, directly across from the Temple Theatre.

— special to The Star