Automotive legend Lee Iacocca laid to rest

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - Automotive icon Lee Iacocca was laid to rest at Saint Hugo of the Hills Catholic Church- Wednesday in Bloomfield Hills.

"The granddaughter that sang, it was beautiful - Ave Maria - it was really nice," said Cindy Kurman, who worked at Chrysler.

"Lee always seemed to me, to never be down," said Rev. Monsignor Howard Lincoln. "Life would be tough at times but I think he felt life was good."

"It was a celebration of life, and that's what it should be," said former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard. "Especially when someone has had a great career that Lee has had, a wonderful family, 94 years."

In fact, many in attendance were those who Iacocca helped along the way-- especially during the 1979 Chrysler bailout.  

"If it wouldn't have been for Lee Iacocca, we probably would not have gotten the loan guarantees - (and) without the loan guarantees, Chrysler might be extinct today," said E. Thomas Pappert, Chrysler vice president from 1981 to 1998.

One worker at the services- a beneficiary of the bail out, remembered the next chapter for the company -  the 1981 Chrysler K car.

"That K car did what it was supposed to do for Chrysler for 10 years," said Donna Elsberry, a Chrysler worker. "It put us on the map, it brought many jobs, good profit-sharing checks, overtime, I just thank God for Lee Iacocca."

| MORE COVERAGE:

An automotive visionary: Friends remember Lee Iacocca

Automotive industry icon Lee Iacocca dies at 94

Before Chrysler, Iacocca worked for Ford - represented by the Mustangs parked outside the church. Those Mustangs became a trademark of Lee Iacocca.   

FOX 2: "You have got Lee Iacocca's signature on your Mustang?"

"Yes, on my glovebox," said Angel Raddatz, who owns a 1965 Mustang. "It is an honor."

"It sounds corny," said Lincoln during the hour and a half service, "but Lee Iacocca has never been more alive as he is right now."