Funeral For Former Baltimore Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro III Set For Wednesday
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A funeral for former Baltimore mayor Thomas "Young Tommy" D'Alesandro, III, has been set for Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Baltimore said.
Plans call for a funeral to be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, 740 North Calvert Street, the archdiocese said. More details have yet to be announced.
D'Alesandro, who served one term as mayor from 1967 to 1971, died over the weekend from complications caused by a stroke. He was 90 years old.
He was the oldest brother of current U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and was often by her side during dedication ceremonies and her swearing-in as Democratic house leader.
One of his key appointments as mayor was that of Robert Embry as housing commissioner. Embry remembered him has a fair and courageous leader for the city during a period that saw significant unrest.
"There was never a hint during that time of favoritism, he never called or had anybody call and say, so-and-so should be awarded a contract or somebody should be hired or fired. You couldn't have had a better mayor in terms of honesty and integrity," he said.
One of Embry's earliest memories of the former mayor was watching him stand up to a room of residents opposing open housing in northeast Baltimore.
"Tommy got up and promoted open housing and racial equality, one of the most courageous things I had ever seen," Embry said. "That's when he became a hero to me."
A viewing was held Tuesday.
"Today we mourn him as a husband, father, brother. A person in our family," Pelosi said. "He was a person full of love. Love for his family, love for Baltimore City and love for his country."
Friends and family also remembered D'Alesandro for his humor.
"He had a laugh that would go from here to heaven," Ted Venetoulis, a friend of D'Alesandro, said. "He was just the most wonderful, loveable person."
John Goralski felt like part of the family.
"I knew them in the 70s," Goralski said. "I used to be their water at Chiparelli's all the time, and the family was always great, and the brothers, I knew them very well."
There's a public viewing at 9 a.m. Wednesday followed by the funeral at St. Ignatius Church on Calvert Street.
