Senator Pryor laid to rest in Little Rock, followed by packed funeral service and President Clinton remarks

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Former senator, congressman and Arkansas governor, David Pryor was laid to rest Saturday at 89 years old.

His death was announced a week ago today, and ever since there has been an outpouring of support for Pryor and his life of service.

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Everyone who spoke at Pryor’s funeral Saturday, including former president Bill Clinton, emphasized his kind heart that was put on display not only in his political career but his personal life.

“When you run the score up there’s a lot of people who are better off because David Pryor lived,” President Clinton said. “All of us who were along for the ride… we’re better off too, aren’t we?”

Pryor was a force at the ballot box for decades, starting his political career in the 1960s in the State House of Representatives. He then moved on to U.S. Congress, later coming back to Arkansas and becoming governor in 1975, beating former governor Orval Faubus in the democratic primary.

His final political office was back in Washington as U.S Senator. He served three terms in that seat until 1996. In that first election for Senate, Pryor went up against former governor Jim Guy Tucker.

Tucker, his former opponent but more importantly longtime friend, said their relationship went far beyond that race. He told KARK 4 News Pryor’s life pointed back to one main thing.

“This was an unusual opportunity for people to talk about service and David Pryor was service,” Tucker said. “His son has been about service. The whole discussion was about helping other people, and really that is what political offices do.”

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All three of Pryor’s sons spoke during the service, sharing personal experiences with their dad, more so than his political accolades.

“People have asked me over the years, what was your dad really like in private? When the cameras were gone, when crowds were gone away…’ and I think there’s 100 people in this room that could say what I’m about to say,” former senator Mark Pryor said. “He was almost the same in private, one on one, as he was in public. Except he was better.”

Clinton left the audience with a piece of advice he learned from Pryor and the life he lived, sharing a story that shows he taught his staff to do the same in Washington.

“If someone asks you to do something you know better than to do, that will help you in the short run but hurt you in community or in the long run, tell them you got a Pryor commitment,” Clinton stated.

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