Otto Warmbier’s Funeral Draws 2,500 People In Ohio Hometown
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Ari Feldman June 22, 2017
Otto Warmbier’s funeral drew over 2,500 people to the arts center of Wyoming High School, Warmbier’s alma mater, in suburban Cincinnati. Mourners hoping to get a seat inside began lining up close to an hour before the funeral.
The service, which was officiated by a rabbi and closed to the news media, lasted about an hour. Warmbier’s brother and sister, as well as a few friends, were expected to give remarks.
Hundreds of people lined the route between the arts center and the cemetery, and a bagpipe player marched in front of the hearse carrying Warmbier’s casket.
A program for the funeral displayed a quote from Warmbier’s 2013 salutatorian speech at Wyoming High School: “This is our season finale. This is the end of one great show, but just the beginning to hundreds of new spinoffs.”
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