HOUSTON (NEWSnet/AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday eulogized longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee as a “force of nature” as memorials for the longtime Democratic lawmaker drew to a close.

Harris took time away from her presidential campaign to describe Jackson Lee, who represented Houston in Congress, as a coalition builder and expert in the legislative process.

“She always expected in all of us that we would rise to a point of excellence, knowing that life was too short and there’s too much to be done,” Harris said.

Jackson Lee died on July 19 at age 74 after being treated for pancreatic cancer.

She was one of Congress’ most prominent Black women during her nearly three decades in Washington. Jackson Lee helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday.

More than 50 members of the U.S. House attended Thursday’s funeral service. New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader.

Former President Bill Clinton said Jackson Lee was on his “just say yes” list whenever she called him during his time in office. She “really believed that we are all created equal,” he said, emphasizing, “We are the longest lasting democracy in human history because we had enough people like Sheila Jackson Lee.”

Services for Jackson Lee began on Monday when hundreds of people paid their respects to her as her body lay in state in a flag-draped coffin inside Houston’s City Hall. President Joe Biden placed a bouquet of flowers near her casket and visited with Jackson Lee’s family.

Jackson Lee represented her Houston-based district since 1995. She previously had breast cancer and announced the pancreatic cancer diagnosis on June 2.

Before being elected to Congress, Jackson Lee served on Houston’s city council from 1990 to 1994.

In Washington, Jackson Lee established herself as an advocate for women and minorities and a leader for House Democrats on many social justice issues, from policing reform to reparations for descendants of enslaved people. She led the first rewrite of the Violence Against Women Act in nearly a decade, which included protections for Native American, transgender and immigrant women.

Jackson Lee unsuccessfully ran to be Houston’s mayor last year.

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