Richard Fulton remembered as a mayor, congressman who served 'all of Nashville'

Richard Harmon Fulton, a giant in Nashville politics who had a remarkable quarter-century run as U.S. congressman and then mayor, was remembered Saturday as a visionary and a courageous and gracious leader who worked to serve "all of Nashville."

Nearly 200 people, including multiple ex-Nashville mayors, friends, family and longtime workers in Metro government, attended the Belle Meade United Methodist Church to honor the life and mourn the loss of Fulton, who died Wednesday night at 91.

During the hour-long afternoon service, attendees celebrated the courage it took for Fulton to be one of just seven Democratic congressman in the South to vote for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and later the Fair Housing Act.

They paid tribute to a mayoral legacy tied to Nashville's transformation into a modern, thriving city — he extended services to the city's outskirts and rebuilt a neglected downtown by redeveloping Second Avenue North and constructing Riverfront Park and the Nashville Convention Center.

'Bravest, strongest man I've ever met' 

And the crowd marveled at Fulton's ability to wear a three-piece suit no matter how hot it was outside, recalled his famous steely stare, praised his talent as a singer and fondly remembered his reputation as a practical joker. 

Throughout the service, many of the same themes surfaced to describe Fulton, the second mayor of Metro-Nashville government — a servant who loved his city and handled his job with grace.

"He was perhaps the bravest, strongest man I've ever met," said Rich Riebeling, a longtime Metro aide who delivered Fulton's eulogy. Riebeling got his start in the mayor's office under Fulton at just 23 years old. "You could disagree with him from time to time, but you could never say, and no one would ever say, he didn't believe he was doing the right thing — not for himself but for all of Nashville."

It was a short, simple service compared to funerals of many past city leaders, lacking a long list of speakers often used for such occasions. 

Former mayors, dignitaries on hand

Nashville Mayor David Briley watched from the middle of the sanctuary with former mayors Bill Purcell and Karl Dean sitting behind him. Former U.S. Rep. Bob Clement, D-Nashville, Vice Mayor Jim Shulman and multiple council members attended as well. So did several former Fulton aides including Metropolitan Trustee Charlie Cardwell, veteran Nashville political analyst Pat Nolan, former Deputy Mayor Greg Hinote and former at-large Councilman and Vice Mayor Ronnie Steine.

The congregation sang a pair of traditional hymns, "Amazing Grace" and "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee."

The Rev. James Hughes, senior pastor of Belle Meade United Methodist Church, led the sermon, remembering Fulton as a man of faith who showed courage in Congress and as he battled heartbreak in his personal life.

"We're here today to celebrate a good long life," Hughes said. "This is a good death. He lived 91 years. You can't ask for much more than that. And we're here today to grieve the loss of a giant."

'Servanthood' set Fulton apart

Fulton served as a Democratic congressman of Tennessee's 5th congressional district from 1963 to 1975 and later as mayor of Nashville from 1975 to 1987.

Hughes discussed the profound love that Fulton had for his wife Sandra Fulton and how Fulton was "deeply loved by the people who were closest to him," including his mayoral staff. He said Fulton was "gracious until the end," calling it a gift especially in a world where he said it's increasingly in short supply.

"What truly set him apart was this ethic of servanthood," Hughes said, adding that Fulton's only goal was to do what was best for everybody. "That drive to serve never wavered."

Most of the stories came from Riebeling, who described Fulton as family and said he "never met a finer person than Dick Fulton."

"He overcame his personal tragedies, found professional highs and became the visionary behind the Nashville we see today," Riebeling said.

He playfully recounted one of the most succinct summations of Fulton that he's heard this week: "Great man, great career. I wish I had his hair."

An intense love of Nashville

Riebeling, who joined Fulton's mayor's office after working as a reporter, joked about "the look" that Fulton would give him when he returned from extended lunch breaks at the old Gerst Haus on some Friday afternoons. 

Riebeling said, as mayor, Fulton would often drive around Nashville with a tape recorder, sometimes with an aide, sometimes by himself, to take notes on the needs of the city. He said Fulton couldn't list off top priorities because everything was a priority.

"I wish everybody had a chance to spend a day with him, just one, and you would learn about his humility, his private nature, his work ethic, his ethical standard. But most of all was his just deep, intense love of each and every Nashvillian and this city."

On Fulton's focus on rebuilding downtown, Riebeling said Fulton would often say, "A city is like an apple. If the core goes rotten, the whole apple goes rotten.'

"It's a simple analogy, but it's exactly how his vision was. He was not going to let that happen."

Stories from a rich life 

An architect of the financing of Music City Center under Dean, Riebeling recalled how he took Fulton to the new convention center shortly after it opened in 2013. He said he told Fulton how difficult it was to get built, only to hear Fulton snap back and say, "Hard? Hard was the first one," referring to the original Nashville Convention Center built in 1987. "The city had never done conventions."

"The message to me: Quit complaining. It's never as hard when you do the right thing."

Riebeling also recounted a birthday celebration for Fulton 10 or 15 years ago at the Nashville City Club that he had with some of Fulton's contemporaries: Former Tennessean editor John Seigenthaler, attorneys George Barrett and Cecil Branstetter, John Jay Hooker and others.

Many stories were told that night, including one from Seigenthaler about the night of the 1962 Democratic Primary when allegations of voting fraud had upended the congressional election. Amid all the buzz, Fulton was found sleeping on a couch in the corner of the room.

"Keep calm. Just relax," Riebeling said, reciting Fulton's outlook.

Part of a generation that transformed Nashville

Briley, who once interned in Fulton's office, said after the service that Fulton was part of a generation of Nashvillians — World War II veterans like Fulton — who transformed and reformed the city. 

"We still benefit from that transformation today," Briley said. "For me, he offered me an opportunity to get involved in government for the first time, so I'll always have fond memories of that and be thankful to him for that."

Dean, mayor of Nashville from 2007 to 2015,  called Fulton a "tremendously important person in the history of Nashville."

"When you look at where the city is now, he played a tremendous role in that," Dean said, pointing to his work on the riverfront and first convention center. He also said it was Fulton who introduced Dean to Hinote, who would become deputy mayor in Dean's administration. 

"He was a dreamer about the city," Dean said of Fulton.  

In lieu of flowers, the Fulton family has asked that any memorials be given to the Belle Meade United Methodist Church, Alive Hospice or to the Sandra and Richard Fulton Tenn Center, East Nashville Maddux YMCA.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter@joeygarrison.