SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns from all around the state came to the State Capitol on Wednesday to pay their respects to the late Sen. Orrin Hatch as he lay in state.

Hatch passed away on April 23 at the age of 88. He was the longest-serving senator from Utah, representing the state in the U.S. Senate for 42 years. In addition, he was also the longest serving Republican to serve in the U.S. Senate.

He is only the fifth individual to lay in state at the Utah State Capitol. According to the Deseret News, the other four people to lay in state are:

• Gov. Olene Walker (November 2015)
• House Speaker Becky Lockhart (January 2015)
• Gov. Scott Matheson (October 1990),
• Gov. George Dern (September 1936)

The Deseret News also reports that Gov. Calvin Rampton had a viewing at the Governor’s Mansion in September 2007. At the time, the Utah State Capitol was under renovation.

Respects for late Sen. Orrin Hatch

Those who paid their respects Wednesday included leadership from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder D. Todd Christofferson and Elder Quentin L. Cook, both members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, came to honor Hatch.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, came to the Utah State Capitol Wednesday to pay his respects for the late Sen. Orrin Hatch. Photo credit: Lindsay Aerts, KSL NewsRadio

A funeral service for Hatch is set for Friday at 1 p.m. It will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Institute of Religion, located at 1780 S. Campus Drive in Salt Lake City. 

He will be buried later that day in Cache County at the Newton Cemetery with military rites.  

Read more:

• Opinion: My personal memory of our former senior Senator, Orrin Hatch
• Orrin Hatch ends 4-decade Senate run as unique GOP voice

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