Former late-night host David Letterman delivered a heartwarming eulogy for his mother, Dorothy Mengering, Saturday during a service to honor her life in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Mengering passed away Tuesday at her home in Carmel, Indiana. She was 95.
Letterman spoke to mourners gathered at Second Presbyterian Church, where he shared memories of his mother, often making the crowd laugh, The Indianapolis Star reported.
He shared one particular story about his mother and a snake. He told the crowd how she spotted a threatening snake in her garden one day and how she calmly went into the house and grabbed a hoe. After retrieving the garden tool, she returned to the garden and hacked off the snake’s head.
“My mother is Grizzly Adams for God’s sake,” Letterman said.
Letterman and Mengering’s grandchildren described a woman who was resilient, hard working and independent.
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Family members recalled her love of cooking and gardening, and friends described her as a beloved figure in Indianapolis, with one friend calling her “everyone’s mom.”
She was also a beloved part of “The Late Show with David Letterman,” where she acted as a correspondent during three Winter Olympics. She reported from Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994, Nagano, Japan, in 1998 and Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002.
She was so popular with viewers that CBS executives told Letterman: “We should have your mother on the show all the time. No, we’re serious. People like her better than you.”
The comedian attributed his work ethic to his mother, recalling how she was always busy, whether it was growing vegetables, cleaning floors or killing snakes.
“We didn’t want for anything because of my mom,” Letterman shared.