Hundreds of people attended the funeral of MYRA KRAFT, wife of Patriots Owner ROBERT KRAFT, Friday at Temple Emanuel outside Boston, according to Shalise Manza Young of the BOSTON GLOBE. All other 31 NFL team owners “attended the heartfelt service,” as did NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL, former Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE, NFLPA Exec Dir DEMAURICE SMITH and “numerous current and former players.” The funeral included “tributes and memories from three of her four sons, one of her eight grandchildren, and three people representing some of the organizations she worked most closely with during her life of tireless philanthropy” (BOSTON.com, 7/22). Others in attendance included Patriots QB TOM BRADY and coach BILL BELICHICK; Celtics Managing Partners STEVE PAGLIUCA and WYC GROUSBECK; and Red Sox Owner JOHN HENRY and his wife, LINDA PIZZUTI HENRY. Rabbi WES GARDENSWARTZ, who led the service, said, “Who else but Myra could bring such an eclectic bunch together? Only one person on the planet. Only Myra could” (BOSTON.com, 7/22). The 80-minute service "drew about 1,500 people -- including those from the worlds of football and philanthropy" (AP, 7/22). SI.com's Peter King notes "at least 10 people" who attended Friday's service said that Patriots President JONATHAN KRAFT "gave one of the most memorable eulogies they'd ever heard" (SI.com, 7/25).
PAYING TRIBUTE: Tagliabue said, "She was a beacon. It’s tragic that her light is no longer being spread." Goodell said, "Just a remarkable woman. Someone that meant so much to all of us. She’d always find a way to give back and make the world a better place. That’s what made her so special. And those are the people you admire and respect. You want to make sure you pay tribute to them. She believed people had great potential. She didn’t care if you were black, white, or what (your) background was. She just wanted to work to make the world better" (BOSTON HERALD, 7/23). ESPN BOSTON's Mike Reiss wrote the plethora of former Patriots players at Myra Kraft's funeral "spoke volumes about the Kraft family’s football business." Reiss: "No ownership group is perfect, but the presence of so many distinguished alumni reinforced what I had previously believed; there is great respect for the family among many of its players" (ESPNBOSTON.com, 7/24).
