Elizabeth Dole Is Filled With Joy, Gratitude, Grief After the Death of Her Husband
By Movieguide® Staff
Republican Senator Bob Dole descended the U.S/ capitol steps for the final time on Dec. 10 after the 98-year-old politician, WWII veteran, and former US Presidential nominee died in his sleep on Dec. 5.
In February, Dole revealed a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis and said he had started treatment.
TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie shared details of her conversation with the late Senator’s wife, Elizabeth Dole, and how the recent memorial service offered her “comfort.”
“She is so wonderful, I paid a little visit to her at her home last night and we had a good time just reminiscing and talking,” Guthrie said before the service. “We talked about that very moment because she was showing me some pictures of when senator Dole had left the senate and all the crowds that came. She talked about him leaving today for that final time, for that final journey down the steps of the capitol and then being laid to rest here.
“It’s going to be a really emotional day, she is full of gratitude and joy, but yes, she is full of grief too, this is the love of her life,” the reporter added. “I think the way that people are remembering him is touching her and providing a great deal of comfort.”
The Elizabeth Dole Foundation confirmed Dole’s death in a statement on Dec. 5.
“It is with heavy hearts we announce that Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep,” the statement read. “At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years.”
It is with heavy hearts we announce that Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep. At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years. More information coming soon. #RememberingBobDole pic.twitter.com/57NtGfqtmL
— Elizabeth Dole Foundation (@DoleFoundation) December 5, 2021
“Bob Dole never forgot where he came from. He embodied the integrity, humor, compassion and unbounded work ethic of the wide open plains of his youth,” Dole’s family said in a different statement. “He was a powerful voice for pragmatic conservatism, and it was that unique Kansan combination of attributes and values that made him such a giant of the Senate.”
NBC News reported:
Dole grew up wanting to become a doctor. That changed after World War II, which nearly killed him and left him permanently disabled, earning him two Purple Hearts and two awards of the Bronze Star.
Dole registered for the Army in 1942 and was a second lieutenant when he was sent to Italy in 1944. The following year, while attempting to rescue an army radioman, Dole got caught in a German machine gun attack that cost him a kidney, shattered his right shoulder and damaged his neck and spine, leaving him temporarily paralyzed from the neck down.
In a letter to his parents at the time, the Army wrote, “At the present time it would appear that his recovery is somewhat questionable.” But Dole beat the odds, and after years of treatment, had regained much of his movement.
His arms never fully recovered — his left remained partially numb for the rest of his life, and he never got back the use of his right arm.
In political and other public appearances in his later years, Dole would often spend hours gripping a pen or some other object in his right hand to signal that he couldn’t shake hands on that side and to keep his fingers from splaying.
Bob Dole’s politics were characterized by a commitment to the disadvantaged, whether it was spearheading the passage of the landmark 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act or combating hunger and poverty.
Though his time in the Senate did not overlap with Dole’s, former President Barack Obama said that he was grateful to have been able to get to know him before his death. He offered his condolences to Dole’s family, adding that he and his wife, Michelle, were saddened by the news Sunday.
“Senator Dole was a war hero, a political leader, and a statesman – with a career and demeanor harkening back to a day when members of the Greatest Generation abided by a certain code, putting country over party,” Obama said. “His sharp wit was matched only by his integrity, and he lived his life in a way that made it clear just how proud he was to be an American, and how committed he was to making this country was everything he knew it could be.”
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