In the eyes of the world, Dick Cheney is known as the most powerful vice president in America’s history — a hawkish and reticent 9/11-era figure who helped expand executive power.
But to those close to him, Cheney was a Wyoming boy to his core; a man deeply devoted to his wife, Lynne, and his daughters; a keen history scholar; an avid fly-fisherman and a proud grandfather.
He was a man whose work took him to the White House and to world capitals to convene with global dignitaries. But he also attended his grandson’s high school football games, packed and moved his granddaughter to college, and drove another around the West as her personal rodeo chauffeur.
“I’m pretty sure he’s the only person who ever had the title vice-president-turned-rodeo-grandpa,” his granddaughter Grace Perry told a crowd gathered Thursday in the Washington Cathedral for Cheney’s funeral.
Attendees included friends, family and politicians of all stripes, including Gov. Mark Gordon, former President Joe Biden, former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Mike Pence and prominent Democrat Nancy Pelosi — but not President Donald Trump. The Cheneys, who had public beef with Trump in recent years, did not invite him, the New York Times reported.
More than 1,000 people were estimated to be in attendance for the service, which came weeks after he died Nov. 3 at the age of 84.
Speakers recalled a man of enormous intellect who was plainspoken and humble, unassuming and competent, decent and patriotic.
“The vice president was always the calmest person in the room,” said Jonathan Reiner, Cheney’s cardiologist for 27 years.
They also underscored his deep and abiding connections to Wyoming.
“I can’t think of anybody who better embodied Wyoming values than Dick Cheney,” said Pete Williams, who worked as Cheney’s press secretary for seven years and who also grew up in Casper. “He was comfortable in the saddle on horseback. He judged people by what they accomplished and what they stood for. He loved the state where he grew up and met Lynne. And Wyoming loved him back, electing him six times to the House of Representatives.”
While some politicians shed staffers in favor of bigger names as they rise in prominence, Williams said, Cheney never abandoned the Wyoming folks who were with him from the start.
“When George W. Bush chose him to be the vice presidential candidate in 2000, their first campaign stop together was Casper, a demonstration of Dick’s loyalty to his home state,” Williams said. (Williams sits on WyoFile’s board of directors.)
Bush himself stepped up to the dais to recall fond memories of Cheney, a man who he noted is the only person from America’s Mountain West ever elected to national office.
“Dick was funny and easygoing in a style that his public image never caught up with,” Bush said.
“I wish more Americans got to know Dick Cheney in the way that folks in Casper and Cody and Laramie got to know him. Smart and polished, without airs. Courteous and approachable, seeing everyone as an equal. A gentleman by nature. And a true man of the West.”
Country above partisanship
Cheney, who grew up largely in Casper, served as Wyoming’s sole U.S. representative in Congress from 1979-1989. It was among his many roles in Washington. At age 34, he became the youngest presidential chief of staff in history when President Gerald Ford appointed him to the post. He served as secretary of defense under George H.W. Bush, and years later joined the ticket of George W. Bush to become vice president, serving two terms.
Cheney was famously in D.C. as terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001, the defining event of his career. He later became the chief architect of the war on terror, and was criticized for the surveillance and interrogation tactics implemented under his leadership.
He and his wife of 61 years, Lynne, continued to live part-time in Jackson, and often hosted family there. They also resided in Virginia, and the family opted to hold Cheney’s funeral in the cavernous Washington Cathedral. The ceremony was not a state funeral, a highly formal, public event administered by the Military District of Washington for distinguished public figures such as former presidents.
The people who showed up — and those who did not — were closely observed by journalists who regarded attendance as a reflection of the country’s current political divisions. Two former presidents were in attendance, along with Kamala Harris and Karl Rove. Neither Trump nor Vice President JD Vance attended the service, which was reported to be invitation-only.
Cheney, in 2024, announced he would vote for Harris in the presidential election, turning against Trump and his party. This came after his daughter, Liz Cheney, publicly criticized Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. That move was considered highly consequential; Trump then backed Harriet Hageman, who unseated the younger Cheney to become Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative.
Cheney’s Harris announcement led some Trump loyalists to distance themselves and others, formerly critical of Cheney, to warm to him.
‘Without airs’
Bush had a big choice to make 25 years ago while looking for a VP, he recalled. So he hired a distinguished Washington veteran to help him find one: Dick Cheney.
The men discussed the virtues he sought, Bush said: “preparedness, mature judgment, rectitude and loyalty. Above all, I wanted someone with the ability to step into the presidency without getting distracted by the ambition to seek it.”
After weeks of these meetings, he said, “I realized the best choice for the vice president was a man sitting right in front of me.” He offered Cheney the spot. Most candidates would jump immediately at the chance, he said.
“Dick stayed detached and he analyzed it,” he said. “Before I made my decision, he insisted on giving me a complete rundown of all the reasons I should not choose him.”
The way it unfolded followed a pattern of Cheney’s life, Bush said. “His abilities were self-evident, without need of calculation or self-promotion … Even before the Cheney name reached the national stage, people always saw something in the man, solid, reliable and rare.”
The most instrumental person to recognize these qualities, Bush noted, was Lynne Cheney, who is widely credited with convincing her husband to abandon the hard-partying ways of his youth and straighten up.
Lynne’s influence, he said, “may explain how in just over a decade, a guy can go from laying transmission lines outside Cheyenne to serving as chief of staff for the president of the United States.”
Cheney had many traits uncommon of Washington politicians, Bush said. He was undramatic and even-keeled. He did not feel the need to vocalize every thought; he was sparing and measured with words.
“In a profession of trash-talkers, he was a thinker and a listener,” he said.
Cheney was a grateful man, Bush recalled, and above all for the three women who shared his journey: Lynne and daughters Mary and Liz.
“As I quickly discovered in 2000, when you choose one Cheney, you get four,” he said. “His busy and purposeful life was an adventure they experienced together. In a family so close, you dread the day when the circle is broken.”
Cheney was also a devoted grandfather, and three of his grandchildren spoke of the way he cooked Christmas dinner every year for his clan, listened to their troubles, dispensed advice, took them fishing and anchored the family with unwavering love.
Liz Cheney spoke last, recalling the long road trips she shared with her father; his fascination with the country’s founding and history; his generous support of his family and unswerving commitment to the nation.
“He was a giant to the end, a lion of a man who loved and served this great republic,” she said.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect the number of former presidents in attendance at Cheney’s funeral. -Eds.
I pray he repented for all the evil he did before meeting his maker
Nice report, thank you. In other reports I saw that Sen. Barrasso was there. What about Sen. Lummis and Rep. Hageman. Do you know, WyoFile? or could you find out? Thanks.
Excellent piece. Thanks
Thank you for this article.
Wyoming son Dick Cheney remembered for integrity, loyalty, intellect and swindling America into a pointless war with Iraq.
Brown University Costs of War Project
Total direct and indirect war deaths (extrapolated from household surveys and other data) 2001–2023 (across several post-9/11 wars)
4.5–4.7 million total deaths (across Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan), including estimated 3.6-3.8 million indirect deaths
Are you blaming Cheney for this ???
Yes, he was a MAJOR contributor as well as his part in the first Gulf War and aftermath from that as well.
I dont know how war criminals can be memorialized as something else when literally millions died as a result of their actions.