Iowans are remembering longtime Governor Robert Ray, after he passed away last weekend. A funeral was held for Governor Ray in Des Moines at the First Christian Church at 1 p.m. The family asks that memorials be made to The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University.The Rev. Bill Spangler-Dunning of the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest led the funeral. Eulogies were delivered by Ray's former chief of staff David Oman, former ambassador Kenneth Quinn and Drake University's Scott Raecker.David Oman speaks at Robert Ray funeralKenneth Quinn delivers eulogy at Robert Ray funeralJ. Scott Raecker speaks at Robert Ray funeralTHURSDAY COVERAGEIowans paid their final respects to former longtime Gov. Robert D. Ray, who died Sunday at the age of 89.On Thursday afternoon, the five-term governor, who served as Iowa's 38th top executive, was brought to the Iowa Capitol rotunda, where he lay in state. He is the eighth person in Iowa history to lie in state at the Capitol and the first person in 63 years.Ray was in office from 1969 until 1983, when he voluntarily left office.Before the ceremony, Ray's body made its way through the city on a route taking him past some of the most significant places in his long life, carried by a gold Cadillac hearse and led by Iowa state troopers and Des Moines police officers.The motorcade started at Terrace Hill, where he and his family lived during his time in office.The next stops were Roosevelt High School and Drake University, where Ray graduated from high school and college, respectively. Ray also served as Drake's president."He did a lot for the state. He did a lot for Drake," said Steve Sommer, of Ankeny.The procession moved to City Hall, where Ray spent part of 1997 as acting mayor.Onlooker David Baby, of Dallas Center, remembered Ray, who was a moderate Republican, as a lion of a much different political era."I can remember my parents were very respectful of Gov. Ray," Baby said. "They were staunch Democrats but respected him as a man, and they actually could vote for him. That's when you could vote for someone of another party and not feel so tense about it."The motorcade ended at the Statehouse.Members of the Iowa Air and Army National Guard paid their respects to their former leader, carrying his casket up the west steps, and then placing it solemnly in the rotunda.Afterward, there was a brief ceremony. You could hear a pin drop as Billie Ray, the governor's wife of more than six decades, honored her late husband.Along with family members and state dignitaries, Iowa's Southeast Asian community showed up in droves, some adorned in colorful ethnic dress.They said they are forever grateful for Ray's decision to welcome refugees to the state in the 1970s.President Jimmy Carter asked America's governors to take in the starving and imperiled refugees following the Vietnam War, and Ray was the only one who responded.At the time, it was controversial, but it's now remembered as a hallmark of humanitarianism. Refugees were some of the hundreds of people who paid their respects as Ray lay in state."He brought us family when my dad was only, like, in his 30s," said Vongdao Kouangvongthien Lovanrack, of Des Moines.For the refugees, Ray was more than just a governor. "He was a family member," said China Lem, of Des Moines. "He brought us home -- opening his arms, opening the state of Iowa to refugees who were lost and displaced -- and gave us roots."And for them, he won't be forgotten."He was just a man of the people," said Teddy Herman, a former co-worker at Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield."He will be forever in our heart," Lovanrack said.