Sheila Jackson Lee celebration of life: Vice President Kamala Harris pays tribute to late Texas congresswoman at Houston service

HOUSTON, Texas — Family, friends, and fellow politicians gathered on Thursday to honor the life and legacy of longtime Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee at a celebration of life service.

“Remembering Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee” started at 11 a.m. central time. Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris delivered the eulogy at the celebration of life on Thursday.

“To know her was to know a true champion. Everything she did, Sheila Jackson Lee worked with all her heart,” Harris said during the service. “The congresswoman was a leader for Houston. She was a national leader. She touched the lives of the people all over our country.”

“She was a force,” the vice president continued. “But she never allowed anything to be mediocre. She always expected in all of us that we would rise to a point of excellence knowing life was too short and there’s just too much to be done.”

WATCH: Vice President Kamala Harris delivers eulogy at service for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

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Among the attendees of Thursday’s service were also Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton.

“She spent years working to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, to memorialize the end of slavery,” Hillary Clinton said of the late congresswoman.

“Before you know it, (Jackson Lee) made it onto the smallest list we kept in the White House when I was there. It was called the, ‘Just say yes’ list,” Bill Clinton added. “Pretty soon, Sheila made the list. She was the only freshman on that list. The list meant this: whatever it is they want, sooner or later, they’re going to do it.”

WATCH: The Clintons’ remarks on late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee

The celebration of life was being held at Fallbrook Church. Thursday’s service was closed to the public.

A closure on Walters Road at Welington Parkway and Old Waters Road continues into the afternoon. Drivers can take Veterans Memorial and T.C. Jester as an alternate route.

Jackson Lee got her political start in Houston as a municipal court judge and served on the city council. She then represented Texas’s 18th congressional district for nearly three decades and is credited with renewing the Violence Against Women Act and sponsoring the bill that made Juneteenth a federal holiday.

She died on July 19, just a little over a month after announcing that she’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Jackson Lee was 74 years old.

She was also a wife and mom. Her husband, Elwyn Lee, spoke at a community appreciation service on Wednesday night.

He said he remembers once when a storm hit Houston, he thought she would stay home because the water was so high, but instead, she had a fire truck come to pick her up so they could go help people.

“I said, ‘What are you doing?’ She gets on the fire truck, they go off, they deviate from their original route because somebody let her know somebody needed rescuing, so they go and rescue them. And later on, the next day I see her out on a boat in a flooded neighborhood,” Lee remembered.

Earlier this week, President Joe Biden visited Houston to pay his respects to Jackson Lee as she lied in state at the Houston City Hall rotunda.

He left this message in the guestbook:

“Fearless, proud, and bold. May God bless a dear friend and great American. May God bless you, Sheila Jackson Lee.”

National and international dignitaries have been in and out of Houston all week, and security is top of mind.

PREVIOUS REPORT: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee lies in state at City Hall as part of services honoring life

Secret Service, federal, state, and local law enforcement were by the plenty on Monday night when Biden paid his respects.

“It’s a huge event and it’s going to be multilayers and multi-subjects that need to be protected,” James Conway, a counterterrorism expert and former member of the FBI, said. “Things are certainly heightened when you blend that with the threat matrix that are out there in the world. You can rest assured that security services and protection teams will be at their upmost.”

The Houston Police Department, the Department of Public Safety, the Secret Service, and other agencies were seen in large numbers during Biden’s visit.

“Thursday will be really the time when security services will be at their highest vigilance because you’ll have a lot of movement and you’re going to have movement across the city and that always complicates things,” Conway said.

Agencies did not talk about their plans, so it is unclear how many law enforcement officers from every level of government were assisting in keeping the services and the city safe as so many honored the late congresswoman.

SEE ALSO: Houston under heightened security as dignitaries including Pres. Biden and VP Harris descend on city