NEWARK, NJ — Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver was laid to rest after a state funeral that included remarks from governors, congressional representatives, ministers, county and locally elected officials, a Grammy award-winning singer and the late lieutenant governor herself.
After lying in state for a day in Trenton at the state house and a day at the county courthouse in Newark, Oliver’s body was brought to the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart for the service attended by about 2,000 people.
Pallbearers carried her body into the church through a phalanx of sharply dressed state police officers while a troop of mounted officers looked on.
The cathedral, one of the largest in the country, was filled with mourners as the body was brought in, down the aisle to the altar. The Rev. Stefanie Minatee and the Jubilation Choir sang “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand,” “Let Go,” and “When We All Get to Heaven” so beautifully that mourners could not help but applaud when they finished.
After songs, prayer, and readings from the Bible, a short video of Oliver talking played on television screens mounted throughout the church. It began with a statement about who she was.
“I am a proud Jersey girl,” Oliver said, “and I don’t pump gas.”
The line created laughter throughout the packed cathedral.
The Rev. DeForest Blake “Buster” Soaries Jr., former senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens and former New Jersey secretary of state under Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, greeted guests and acted as the master of ceremonies throughout the service.
Soaries reminded the speakers, more than once, that because so many people would be making remarks that they should limit their reflections to two minutes. It was a reminder that was almost universally ignored during the nearly four hour service.
One of the first speakers was the Rev. Frances Snelling-Teabout, pastor of St. John’s Baptist Church of Jersey City, who had been mentored by Oliver when she was a student at Caldwell College.
Snelling-Teabout said she had hoped to drop a class that she was not enjoying because her classmates were constantly talking negatively about Newark and its residents and offering their opinions on why the city, at the time, was in a state of decline. Oliver was an adjunct professor at the college and Snelling-Teabout needed her permission to drop the class.
Oliver would not give her permission and instead told Snelling-Teabout that she needed to “show up, stand up, and speak out.”
That message was one that came up repeatedly during the service along with the theme that Oliver never forgot where she came from, who helped her along her way and that she didn’t forget to reach back and help others.
Five former governors were in attendance: Jim McGreevey, Jon Corzine, Tom Kean, Christie Todd Whitman, and Don DiFrancesco. Gov. Phil Murphy spoke, as did McGreevey.
“She was a daughter of Newark,” Murphy said. The city where she was born and raised.
The city that — on the eve of her 15th birthday — erupted into flames after years of being neglected, hollowed out, and disregarded by generations of leaders.
“Those four days of burning —which we remember as the Newark Rebellion — lit a fire in Sheila’s heart. It was a communal outcry that inspired her to become the champion she believed her community had never had — but sorely needed.
“And in the decades since, Sheila rolled up her sleeves — again and again — and dedicated herself to extinguishing the embers of inequality, injustice, and indigence.”
Other speakers included U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr., U.S. Rep. Bonnie M. Watson, state senators Nia H. Gill, and M. Teresa Ruiz and assembly members Shavonda M. Sumter, Thomas P. Giblin, and Britnee N. Timberlake.
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. spoke as did Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and East Orange Council President Christopher D. James.
Baraka began his remarks by leading the congregation in a singing of “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!”
“Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Since I laid my burdens down.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Since I laid my burdens down!
I feel better, so much better
Since I laid my burdens down.”
James quoted Queen Elizabeth II, saying; “Grief is the price we pay for love,” adding that “We honor our queen today.”
Family members and friends, including Dionne Warwick, also spoke but the main eulogy was given by the Rev. Al Sharpton Jr., president and founder of the National Action Network.
“Sheila never forgot why she was in the room and she never forgot who put her in the room,” Sharpton said. “She did not get in the door and close it behind her.”
Pool Photos