Family, friends and legislators gathered at the Indiana Statehouse rotunda on Friday to remember to life and legacy of the late Sen. Jean Breaux. (Photo/Marilyn Odendahl)
By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
April 8, 2024
Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, recalled a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, where she was reminded her friend, the late Indiana Sen. Jean Breaux, D-Indianapolis, could find joy even in ordinary tasks.
The pair was leaving to return to Indianapolis but Pryor became confused as to why they were driving and driving but not reaching the interstate. Finally, she realized they were detouring along some country roads because “Jean wanted to take the scenic route.”
Breaux, who died March 20 after an illness, was remembered and celebrated during a memorial service at the Indiana Statehouse on Friday. She lay in state in the rotunda, her casket adorned with flowers, while Democratic and Republican legislators, legislative staff, family, friends, local officials and community leaders said their good-byes.
First elected to the Indiana Senate in 2006 to fill the seat her mother, Billie Breaux, had held, Breaux represented Senate District 34 for nearly 18 years. She was described by friends and legislative colleagues as a dedicated public servant and devout woman of faith.
Speaking of Breaux’s legacy, the Rev. Patricia Holman of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Indianapolis said, “Little Black girls look at her and say, ‘I can do that,’ and so for that, I thank God.”
Holman and the Rev. Dr. Winterbourne Harrison-Jones of Witherspoon Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis presided over the memorial service. The Rev. Pamela Russell, chaplain for the Indiana Statehouse, called Breaux a “tireless public servant” and said her “empty chair in the Senate chamber is a stark reminder of our loss.”
The mourners crowded into the rotunda, filling the chairs and standing in the back. A large video screen beside Breaux’s casket scrolled through snapshots of Breaux with other legislators, relatives, and constituents.
Harpist Melissa Gallant played as people congregated before the service and filed past Breaux’s casket. The sanctuary choir from Witherspoon Presbyterian Church sang “Open my Mouth to the Lord” and “How Excellent is Thy Name,” which inspired some to stand, raise their hands and move with the music.
Indiana Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, chaplain of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, gave the benediction, asking for the “power to do the work left to be done.”
Harrison-Jones recalled visiting Breaux a short time before she died. “We were there to see her but she was there to encourage us,” he said, adding that she gave them orders to continue to serve and never let go of their faith.
Pryor and Rep. Robin Shackleford, D-Indianapolis, both members of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, and Yvette Banks, president of Gamma Phi Delta Sorority, Inc., Gamma Chapter, eulogized Breaux. They recalled her strength, her work to empower the marginalized and her imploring them to push forward and break down barriers.
Banks remembered Breaux telling her, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
They also reminisced about how Breaux loved to dance and loved music, usually singing off-key. When they remembered Breaux’s habit of calling and saying she needed just a few minutes to talk but then would still be talking a half hour later, a quiet murmur of acknowledgement rippled through the crowd.
“She loved people. She loved life and she loved serving people,” Pryor said. Then she added that now was Breaux’s time to rest. “She truly earned her rest.”
Dwight Adams, a freelance editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org
