Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania's longest-serving U.S. senator, will be remembered at a funeral service attended by Vice President Joe Biden, his longtime senate colleague.
Family members say the 82-year-old Specter died Sunday of complications from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The public service is scheduled for noon Tuesday at Har Zion Temple in suburban Philadelphia.
Specter's long political career thrust him to the center of many pivotal events in modern American history. He promoted the single-bullet theory in the death of President John F. Kennedy, questioned Anita Hill about sexual harassment claims she raised against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and worked to advance Mideast peace and stem-cell research.
President Barack Obama has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and other public buildings in honor of the former senator.
© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.