When U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern thinks about his daughter Molly, he remembers her tenacity, her love for scary movies, and how she would end every phone call with “love you.”
And that’s hard, the told a packed crowd at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church Our Lady of Providence Parish in Worcester on Saturday for her funeral.
“Losing a child is cruel,” McGovern said. “And as much as I want to crawl into a hole and disappear, I got to be Molly’s dad, and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”
Tears, the great equalizer, streamed down the faces of attendees who included such national figures as former President Bill Clinton, and U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, D-Mass.
Homegrown pols, including Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, members of the Worcester School Committee and City Council, along with several of McGovern’s constituents all gathered to pay their respects.
Molly McGovern, 23, died suddenly on April 23 while she was visiting a close friend and his family in Assisi, Italy. Her death was announced by McGovern, his wife Lisa and his son Patrick one day later.
Whether she was going on a cave adventure in West Virginia after watching “Journey To the Center of the Earth,” being obsessed with scary movies or being a mega-fan of the Boston Bruins, McGovern’s life was filled with joy.
She also had many quirks, such as hating odd numbers, her father recalled.
It was a requirement for McGovern that all things needed to be even, whether it be from the television volume or the number of times the car door would be locked.
It was those quirks, however, that made Molly McGovern who she was and her family loved her for them.
Addressing the mourners, Patrick McGovern, Molly’s brother, recounted how he and her sister would talk non-stop about the Bruins, guessing the scores of the games in real-time. He remembered how they would watch movies together and how she would call her brother from different cities.
Those are the moments Patrick McGovern said he will miss the most.
“You’re my favorite person, you’re my best friend,” McGovern said. “I really miss you.”
‘Refused to be sick’
One of the things McGovern will remember about his daughter is her ability not to let her setbacks bring her down.
In 2019, McGovern was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, receiving treatment through a clinical trial at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
In spite of her illness. McGovern said her daughter refused to be sick, not letting the cancer prevent her from doing the things she loved.
“Most people who never knew (about the cancer) said she looked great,” McGovern said.
She also had a love of exploration, studying abroad in Australia and visiting Italy.
McGovern said that when his daughter died, she did not suffer. By all accounts, she was “having a blast” before she died—spending time with people who she loved and cared for.
“Molly was fierce and she was bold,” McGovern said. “She never accepted no as an answer.”
A connection to politics and the water
As the daughter of a member of Congress, McGovern was raised both in Worcester and Washington, D.C.
As such, she had built connections with several members of the House of Representatives, such as former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and U.S. Rep. Jaimie Raskin, D-Md.
McGovern recounts how much her daughter adored former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and how she supported her run for president in 2008.
He said that when Clinton won the Massachusetts primary on Feb. 5, 2008, Molly McGovern took credit for her win. McGovern also met former President Barack Obama, who signed a basketball for her.
While she was honored to receive an autograph from the 44th president, Molly said: “Hillary would have been better,” McGovern said to a laughing crowd.
McGovern also had a special connection to water.
Her mother, Lisa McGovern, said that her daughter loved the water from the minute she was born, loving baths when she was a baby, watching her favorite movie about mermaids, “Aquamarine,” and even naming three mermaids that she owned, Ginger, Ginger and Ginger.
She even enjoyed rainy days as well as trips to the beach from Bermuda to Costa Rica.
As her coffin, followed by her family, exited the church, attendees took a piece of sea glass to remember McGovern, her love for water and the impact her life had on the world.
“She made the world better and all of us better,” Jim McGovern said. “And we will hold her in our hearts forever.”
