January 5, 2009 Pell grandson: He came through when needed most Play video

(NECN: Newport, RI) - Nicholas Lorillard Pell, the grandson of Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell, gathered this morning among dignitaries and hundreds of family and friends to mourn his late grandfather.

"He came through when you needed him most. Always there, always dependable and always true to his moral compass. That was my grandfather," said Nick Pell.

The funeral liturgy took place at Trinity Episcopal Church in Newport, Rhode Island.

Click here to watch the eulogy by Kennedy.

Click here to watch the eulogy by Clinton.

Click here to watch the eulogy by Biden.

Click here to watch the eulogy by Reed.

The Democrat died Thursday after a long battle with Parkinson's disease at the age of 90. Pell created the federal education grants that helped millions of Americans afford college. He was first elected to the Senate in 1960. He sponsored legislation creating the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant program, which passed in 1972 and provided direct

Pell was also the main Senate sponsor of the 1965 law creating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He participated in the 1945 San Francisco conference that wrote the United Nations charter and served in the U.S. foreign service for seven years.

Pell left office in January 1997 after his sixth term.