By MEG KINNARD
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Mourners are gathering to say goodbye to South Carolina's Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings, one of the last larger-than-life Democrats who once dominated the politics of the South.

Funeral services are set to begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Summerall Chapel at The Citadel in Charleston. Former Vice President Joe Biden is among the speakers.

Hollings died earlier this month at 97. The funeral caps off three days of mourning for the former governor and longtime U.S. senator, whose body lay in repose Monday at the state Capitol.

Hollings' long and colorful political career included an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. When he retired from the Senate in 2005, Hollings had served 38 years and two months, making him the eighth longest-serving senator in U.S. history.

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