Over 1,000 people attend funeral for veteran with no immediate family

Edward K. Pearson had no immediate family when he died in late August, but the veteran was not alone when he was buried Tuesday.

The Florida resident died Aug. 31 at the age of 80, according to his funeral notice, which said the veteran had no immediate family and “all are welcome to attend” the funeral. 

{mosads}More than 1,000 people took up the offer, according to WFTS Tampa Bay, a local ABC-affiliate.

Christian Ziegler, vice chairman of the Florida GOP, estimated that more than 4,000 people came to the service at the Sarasota National Cemetery.

Ziegler thanked CNN host Jake Tapper, who in part helped spread the word about the veteran’s service by tweeting out the funeral announcement.

.@jaketapper it’s fair to say that Army Vet Edward Pearson was not buried alone in Sarasota, FL today.

4,000 showed up to #HonorPearson

Thank you for using your platform to get the word out about these unclaimed veteran funerals. pic.twitter.com/DhoDyCzBjD

— Christian Ziegler @FloridaGOP Vice Chair (@ChrisMZiegler) October 1, 2019 

Tapper tweeted Sunday letting followers know about the funeral, along with a reminder Tuesday.

SARASOTA! This event is this morning! https://t.co/UueKgAjxSJ

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 1, 2019

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) also tweeted out the announcement to spread the word about the funeral to honor the veteran.

FLORIDA: The public has been invited to attend the funeral of a veteran w/o immediate family. We honor Edward K. Pearson’s life & thank him for his service.

Tues, Oct 1
12:30pm
Sarasota National Cemetery
9810 State Road 72 in Sarasota. https://t.co/trZxOkJGlO

— Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) September 30, 2019

The cemetery’s assistant director Ed Lyons, who is also a veteran, told WFTS he is glad people are reaching out to honor Pearson. 

“It’s what these veterans deserve, it’s what this veteran deserves,” Lyons said. 

Among the attendees was the Sarasota Police Department, which said it was “honored” to be in the crowd paying respects to Pearson.

We were honored to be among the hundreds of people at the Sarasota National Cemetery to pay final respects for #EdwardPearson, a @USArmy Veteran who passed away August 31st. He sacrificed for our country & we’ll never forget him. Thank you for your service, sir. Rest easy. pic.twitter.com/fH6ER4WKNB

— SarasotaPD (@SarasotaPD) October 1, 2019