A long line of motorcycles led the procession, and members of the National Guard comprised the Honor Guard that carried the casket bearing former Maryland Gov. William Donald Schaefer into the State House Monday morning.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said Schaefer was impatient when it came to getting things done but could be very patient when it came to people.
The public lined up to pay their last respects. Some at the front of the line had worked with Schaefer for years.
Karen Blair was 18 when she began with Schaefer. She had tears in her eyes as she talked about her 43 years with him.
"It's been a very sad week,” she said. “He was like a dad to me."
Schaefer’s flag-draped casket was set out in the Rotunda of the State House. People went by in small groups, bowed their heads and said prayers.
The visitors included VIPs who had served the state and shared fond memories of working with Gov. Schaefer.
"He was a one-of-a-kind guy,” said former Congress member Connie Morella said. “They don't make them like that anymore."
One woman traveled from Cumberland with a personal story of how Schaefer had helped her family.
"He cared about me,” Juanita Cage Lewis said. “I'm nobody, but he cared about me."
