VP Joe Biden and others to remember Stevens, nation’s longest serving Republican senator

Dozens of dignitaries to attend Stevens’ funeral

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Dignitaries are gathering for the funeral of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, who died last week in a plane crash in southwest Alaska and was the longest serving Republican senator in the nation’s history.

The funeral Wednesday marks the end of three days of remembrances that began Monday when several hundred people attended a Catholic Mass in Anchorage. Mourners filed past a closed casket Tuesday as Stevens’ body lay in repose at an Episcopal church.

Vice President Joe Biden is expected to speak, and more than 20 current and former senators, governors and foreign representatives also are attending the funeral, which is being broadcast nationally.

It will be held at Anchorage’s largest church, which can seat over 2,000 people in its auditorium. An additional 2,000 seats are set up in an overflow area.