SCRANTON -- People wishing to pay their respects to a political giant, Governor William Scranton, stood outside Covenant Presbyterian church in his namesake city for more than an hour before his memorial service.
A lot of words were used to describe William Scranton, a former governor, congressman, and U.N. ambassador, but Keith Eckel from Newton Township used a pretty powerful word, calling Scranton his hero.
"He was dedicated to the people, that's what he cared about. And he had such a great humility about him, and he never forgot northeastern Pennsylvania."
Before Governor Scranton died last month at the age of 96, he told his family to invite the public to his memorial service. While some travelled only a few blocks, others, including State Representative Tina Pickett, (R-110th District) travelled hours.
"We just thought we wanted to be in place, rather that watch it is another way that we could've been present today, but to actually be here to make a statement about how much we appreciate what he did for Pennsylvania."
"Just so much respect for him and his family. Just a very nice person, simply put, just a great person," said Diane Elliott from Towanda.
The line of admirers described a man whose biggest impact came from the little things he did in his life. Steuart Bailey from Clarks Summit could summarize Scranton's legacy in a sentence.
"Kind to people, kind to the normal everyday person."
It was the normal, everyday person who Governor Scranton may have been most proud to see here.
Eric Conner came from Lancaster. He collects memorabilia about Pennsylvania's governors and says Scranton was always one of his favorites.
"He was a man of the people, even though he came from a wealthy background, he really worked among the people. He's a good person to model your life after."
Five former governors gathered to pay their respects to Governor Scranton.