Her life was marked with curiosity, dedication to people and a constant stream of new ideas. That's how her children and others remembered former First Lady and U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan at a memorial in downtown St. Louis Saturday.
Friends and family filled the Sheldon Concert Hall on Washington Ave., to celebrate Carnahan's 90 years of life. She passed away January 30 under hospice care.
Carnahan's husband Mel, Missouri governor for most of the 1990s, died in a plane crash in 2000, an accident that also took her son, Randy. All three of her surviving children spoke at Saturday's service.
"In this time of loss, let's remember tenderly, but move forward with renewed passion and purpose," said youngest son Tom. "To serve others and leave this world a little better than we found it. Luckily, she showed us exactly how to do this."
Daughter Robin, former Missouri Secretary of State, recalled the words of 19th century activist Harriet Tubman, who always encouraged her team to keep going despite adversity. Robin said her mother carried with her that same spirit.
"Even in the face of uncertainty and doubt and fear, she just willed herself to take the next step," said Robin Carnahan, who now works in the Biden Administration. "Mom always kept going. She saw it as her job to make the world, her community, her state... her friends, her family, everyone, a little bit better."
Jean's oldest son, Russ, served eight years as a U.S. Congressman for Missouri's 3rd district. At the time, the district included the southern portion of the St. Louis area. He said until the end, his mother remained curious about the world and the things going on it, reflecting her lifelong passion for thinking about the future.
"Jean Carnahan was a non-stop firehose of ideas," said Russ. "It could be overwhelming for some but also inspiring. She transformed so many of those ideas into reality."
Russ said his mother's endless curiosity led her to a life of constant learning and new passions.
"She played the guitar, the ukulele; she was a painter, a clown," he said. "She actually went to clown school. She was a designer, a historian, a writer."
In fact, Carnahan published eight books, including two about the historic governor's mansion in Missouri as well as a cookbook. A food lover, she also wrote a culinary blog called Good Food St. Louis.
Following his death in 2000, Mel Carnahan was posthumously elected to Missouri's junior U.S. Senate seat. Jean was appointed to take his place.
"I did not come to the U.S. Senate in the same way you did," she told her colleagues after being sworn in. "My name has never been on a ballot. On election night, there was no victory celebration. You are here because of your win; I am here because of my loss. But we are all here to do the work of this great nation."
