U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee was remembered as a fierce champion of women’s rights and racial equality, as well as a loving wife, mother and grandmother, during a “Celebration of Life” Thursday for the longtime Houston congresswoman.

Jackson Lee died July 19, a month-and-a-half after her office announced she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Thursday’s service capped a week of ceremonies honoring Jackson Lee in the city. 

Her son, Jason Lee, said that despite her legacy as a public official, her first priority was to her family. He recalled her passing at a hospital in Houston, where he told Jackson Lee “you were a good mom” right before she died. 

“Her greatness, for everything else that it was, it was in her love for her family,” Lee said. “Hearing she had completed that mission, she knew she could go.”

Lee was standing with his sister, Erica Lee Carter, who wore pieces of her mother’s famed outfits to the service. 

“I wore her cape, I wore her cloth, but I will never wear her crown,” Lee Carter said.

The service for the 29-year Democratic member of Congress, drew elected officials from around the city and from the highest levels of U.S. government, including Vice President Kamala Harris. The vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee for president delivered Jackson Lee’s eulogy, calling her a friend from their time together in Washington, D.C.

“The congresswoman was a leader for Houston, and she was a national leader. She touched the lives of people all over our country,” Harris said, recalling the many times Jackson Lee would run up to her in the Capitol to tell her how she could help her with one of her priorities.

“There were times, I will admit, if I saw her walking down the hall, I would almost want to hide,” Harris added with a laugh. “She would tell you exactly what she needed you to do to help her get it done.”

Harris said her husband, Douglas Emhoff, considered Jackson Lee “a dear friend” from doing multiple events together, particularly in Houston with the city’s Jewish community. 

Harris’ eulogy highlighted a more than four-hour service that featured the thundering Houston Gospel Community Choir, a live performance by Stevie Wonder and remarks by local, state and national leaders about Jackson Lee’s life and legacy. Attendees included former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and civil rights icons Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson. 

A bipartisan group of more than 50 of Jackson Lee’s U.S. House of Representatives colleagues attended the Thursday service, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during his remarks.

Jeffries said Jackson Lee was beloved by her colleagues in Congress because of her friendship and tireless work ethic, calling her the “Michael Jordan” of the House: “You can’t stop her. You can only hope to contain her.” 

Jackson Lee’s legacy as an advocate for voting rights, women’s rights and racial equality was at the center of the service, as speakers recalled stories of the congresswoman’s tireless efforts to advance the causes dear to her. 

Former President Bill Clinton recalled adding Jackson Lee to his “just say yes list” during her first term in the House. The list normally was reserved for more senior members of Congress, but Jackson Lee’s persistence on her priorities made her the most junior addition to the “short list,” he said.

“I knew, whatever she wanted, it was good,” Clinton said. “It was good for somebody, it was trying to help somebody.” 

Sharpton recalled Jackson Lee’s presence at demonstrations for racial justice and in the halls of Congress fighting for police reform throughout her career. 

“I can’t think of a major struggle that she was not there,” Sharpton said. “She would be there at every march, at every rally. She wouldn’t be in the back hiding and ducking, she would be standing at the front loud and proud. America is better today because of Sheila Jackson Lee.”

Jackson Lee was born in New York City, but moved to Houston in 1978, following her graduation from the University of Virginia Law School and came to call the city home. That love for Houston was at the center of many of the remarks about her life and legacy. 

Jeffries recalled an event in which he introduced her as a congresswoman from Houston by way of New York City. Jackson Lee shot Jeffries a look, then pulled him aside after the event and told him to omit her native city in the future. 

“Sheila Jackson Lee was all Texas all the time and didn’t want any confusion about who she was fighting for,” he said.

Jackson Lee became a municipal judge in 1987 and was elected to an at-large seat on City Council in 1989, where she first gained her reputation as a tireless advocate. She was elected to represent the 18th Congressional District in 1994 and went on to be reelected 15 times. 

Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner recalled her many small acts of service to the city while in office, including paying for the restoration of a church in Acres Home and her efforts distributing aid after the May derecho while she was battling cancer. 

“Sheila, I want to thank you on behalf of the local community for bringing the world to the 18th Congressional District,” Turner said. 

Her impact also stretched well beyond Houston and the borders of the United States. The granddaughter of Jamaican immigrants, Jackson Lee was an icon to the Jamaican diaspora living in the United States, said Audrey P. Marks, the Jamaican ambassador to the U.S. 

“She was a remarkable leader, a stalwart, whose legacy is intertwined with her Jamaican heritage,” Marks said. 

The service was at different times a funeral, a celebration and a political rally. 

Multiple speakers noted that Harris would be the first woman and particularly the first Black woman to be elected president if she wins in November. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who chose Jackson Lee to be a co-chair of her 2008 campaign for president, said the greatest way the attendees could honor her would be by organizing to help Harris win the election.

“Come next January, when our first woman president takes the oath of office, I’ll be thinking of Sheila, wondering what up in heaven she’s wearing, what magnificent long scarf she has wrapped around herself, what hairdo she has managed to achieve for this special occasion,” Clinton said. “I’ll be thinking of her … and all the generations of women who helped to make that day possible because they never stopped believing.” 

For her part, Harris stayed away from political remarks but said Jackson Lee was a mentor to her when she first entered the U.S. Senate in 2017. Harris said she spoke on the phone with Jackson Lee shortly before her passing. 

“She had such an impact on me and my life,” Harris said. “To know Sheila, she could be tough, but, oh my goodness, she was so loving and so encouraging. She always encouraged me, so I called to thank her for that.”

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