BOSTON, Jan. 20 -- Democratic former presidential hopeful Paul Tsongas will be buried Thursday in his hometown of Lowell, Mass. Tsongas, 55, died Saturday night of pneumonia after years of battling cancer.
Calling hours at the family residence at 80 Mansur St., in Lowell will be from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church. He will be buried in Lowell Cemetery. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations should be made to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In honor of Tsongas, Lowell has canceled this week's City Council and School Committee meetings. President Clinton said, 'Our country is deeply indebted to him for having had the courage to stay active in the public life and to battle through his own illness and his own pain and his own disappointment to continue to fight for America's well-being. Gov. William Weld said Tsongas was a 'courageous voice and irrepressible spirit' for the people of Massachusetts and the nation. Tsongas underwent surgery earlier this month to correct a blockage in his liver. Doctors said the condition was related to a second bone marrow transplant he received last year in his long battle with lymphoma. Tsongas left the Senate in 1984 after developing lymph cancer, and underwent two bone marrow transplants. Tsongas has suffered two recurrences of the cancer since 1984, one in 1987 and a second in 1992, shortly after his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. At the time of his death, doctors say Tsongas was cancer-free. ---
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