Elmore Leonard remembered at funeral

Friends, family and fans of novelist Elmore Leonard gathered in Michigan on Saturday (24Aug13) to attend the writer’s funeral. The 87-year-old crime writer passed away on Tuesday (20Aug13), three weeks after suffering a stroke, and his life was celebrated with a service at the Holy Name Church in suburban Detroit.
His son Christopher paid tribute to Leonard and joked about the “biting sarcasm” the Get Shorty author had passed on to his children and grandkids, while fellow author and sports writer Mike Lupica said his longtime pal would have appreciated the Mass, reports The Associated Press.
Also in attendance was actor Timothy Olyphant, who stars in Justified, the TV drama series inspired by Leonard’s novels Pronto and Riding the Rap as well as his short story Fire in the Hole.
After the funeral, Olyphant admitted he “felt very blessed” to have known Leonard.