Memorial services for former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar will take place Saturday as the state pays tribute to “a leader who cared, not just about results, but about people.”

Prior to the funeral, Edgar’s body is expected to lie in state Friday in the Rotunda of the Illinois State Capitol Building. Visitors can pay their respects from 3:30 – 7 p.m., with a memorial book available to sign.

Memorial services for Edgar will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Central Baptist Church in Springfield. Those services will be aired on NBC Chicago’s 24/7 Streaming News channel, and will also be available via the NBC Chicago app and the Telemundo Chicago app.

Edgar, who served two terms as Illinois’ governor in the 1990s, passed away Sunday at the age of 79 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

“It is with heavy hearts we share the news that our beloved husband, father and grandfather Jim Edgar passed away this morning in Springfield from complications related to treatment for pancreatic cancer,” a family statement read. “We are deeply grateful for the love, support and kindness so many have shown to Jim and our family over these last several months.” 

Edgar was born in 1946 in Oklahoma and was raised in Charleston, Illinois. He attended school at Eastern Illinois University, where he was elected student body president, according to his website.

Edgar was first elected to the Illinois House in 1976, and was named former Gov. Jim Thompson’s legislative director in 1979. He was then appointed to serve as Secretary of State in 1981, and won reelection twice to the position.

During his tenure in office he had pushed for Illinois to adopt stricter laws against drunk driving, including lowering the Blood Alcohol Content limit to 0.10, and had advocated for the national drinking age to be set at 21, according to his website.

When Thompson opted not to run for reelection in 1990, Edgar announced his candidacy and after winning a contested primary defeated Democratic candidate Neil Hartigan to win the governorship.

“Jim Edgar believed public office was a call to serve. He didn’t seek popularity, instead he earned it by standing for what was right, even when it was hard. Known for his honesty and thoughtful leadership, he brought people together across political lines and worked to make government work better for everyone,” his obituary read. “He listened carefully, made tough decisions, and led by example.”

During his tenure as governor, Edgar pushed for caps on property taxes for Illinois homeowners and paid down billions in debt as he addressed significant budget deficits, according to his website.

Edgar chose not to run for reelection in the 1998 governor’s race, and has served on a wide variety of boards and in different charitable organizations, including as the president emeritus of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation.

“He leaves behind a legacy of decency. His family is grateful for his example of how to lead with integrity, how to listen to all sides, and how to care for others with grace and courage,” his obit stated.

Seven years ago, a college freshman named Joey Romano was skateboarding near the University of Texas at Austin when he swerved to avoid a car and slammed into a ditch, breaking his wrist.

Romano made a choice that would change his life, though he couldn’t have known it at the time: He called an Uber instead of an ambulance.

“I didn’t have very good insurance, and I was worried about the cost,” Romano, now 29, tells TODAY.com.

When driver Beni Lukumu arrived, Romano was still lying on the ground. Carefully, Lukumu helped him into the car, reclining the passenger seat to minimize movement and pain. Their first stop was urgent care, but Romano’s injury was too serious, and he was quickly sent to the emergency room.

Lukumu insisted on driving Romano to the hospital at no charge. Then he found out that Romano had no family nearby to come help him. Lukumu had immigrated to the United States from the Congo at age 25, and knew what it was like to be far from loved ones.

With a busy day of rides ahead of him, Lukumu looked at his young passenger, alone and in excrutiating pain.

“It wasn’t even a question for me,” Lukumu, who now works in insurance, tells TODAY. “I was staying with Joey. He needed somebody to be by his side.”

Romano recalls how Lukumu took charge, signing him into the ER, and then sat with him from 2 to 8 p.m. Lukumu says the hours he missed at work didn’t even register; his new friend mattered far more.

“I was on a morphine drip and I remember feeling glad he was there. He has this warm presence, and strangely, it felt like we had known each other forever,” Romano says.

Romano’s grandmother, who lives in Houston, made it to the hospital around the time he was being discharged. She offered Lukumu payment, which he politely refused, though he did agree to join them for dinner, a gesture that cemented a friendship lasting more than seven years.

Lukumu had no way of knowing it, but he’d found Romano at one of the lowest points of his life. His brother Johnny had died of leukemia at age 10 in 2008, and Romano was struggling badly with his grief.

“After losing my brother… and experiencing so much loss beyond that… I just became really insular. I could barely take care of myself, let alone others,” he says. “I just shut down and closed myself off. I became really cold.”

Romano’s voice thickens with emotion as he remembers how Lukumu pulled him out of that dark, isolating place. Meeting Lukumu, he says, was a turning point. It’s what drives him to look for ways to help others whenever he can. 

“That one act of kindness helped me see the good in the world again,” Romano says. “Having him spend his entire day with me — a complete stranger, for no reason than the goodness of his heart, helped me to put things into perspective. Beni absolutely changed my life.”

Lukumu, an accomplished gospel singer, now works in the insurance industry in Austin, while Romano is a renewable energy developer. “We check in on each other a couple of times a year,” Romano tells TODAY.com.

Lukumu hopes people will take from their story a message about the power of human connection, how simple acts of compassion can create bonds and change lives.

“The world is so divided right now,” he says. “What we need is love and kindness.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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