Family and close friends said goodbye to larger than life political figure John Jay Hooker.
The grand reading room of the Downtown Nashville Public Library was where hundreds gathered Saturday for a family visitation and memorial in honor of Hooker who died in January at age 85.
Hooker was the Democratic Party’s nominee for governor of Tennessee in 1970 and 1998.
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander said he was an entertainer of sorts with a contagious personality he'll greatly miss.
“He became a good friend,” Senator Alexander said. “He had a sense of purpose, but he enjoyed the sport of politics, and I’ll remember his remarkable personality and I’ll remember his sense of purpose.”
Hooker had been suffering from Melanoma and spent many of his last days fighting to make doctor-assisted suicide legal in Tennessee.
The family planned to have a private burial service.
