Michigan says goodbye to Carl Levin, an iconic public servant who ‘set the standard’

News of Carl Levin’s death spread fast across Michigan with friends, colleagues, and even some political foes paying their respects to one of Michigan’s iconic public servants.

On Thursday, Levin, a Detroit native and Michigan’s longest-serving U.S. senator, died following a four-year battle with lung cancer that he made public in March. He was 87 years old.

Despite serving in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat for 36 years, the lengthy list of individuals paying their respects Thursday came from people from across the political spectrum. Levin is the uncle of U.S. Rep. Andy Levin and brother of longtime former U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin.

A private funeral will be held soon with a public memorial planned in the future.

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens

“There is no one like Senator Carl Levin, and there will never be another like him. He was a hero to me, and so many people he worked with and inspired. I will never forget November 1, 2018, when he told a room full of people ‘Haley can do this.’ His confidence in me is something that I cherish and will always carry with me. May Senator Carl Levin’s memory be a blessing and may his legacy live forever on in the hearts of Michiganders, and those who he inspired.”