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• Abdnor died Wednesday of natural causes after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for the past two years. He was 89.
• Abdnor was best known nationally as the South Dakota Republican who ousted Democratic Sen. George McGovern from the Senate in 1980.
• But those who spoke Saturday cast Abdnor as a humble man who loved talking with people, serving as a mentor and adopting them into what was seen as an extended family.
• "Jim Abdnor was the real deal," Thune said. "He treated the guy who cleaned his office the same way he treated the president of the United States."
• Abdnor was born in 1923, the son of Lebanese immigrants. He farmed near Kennebec, taught school and coached before serving six terms in the state Legislature

and one term as lieutenant governor.
• He won four terms in the U.S. House before defeating McGovern, the 1972 Democratic presidential candidate, in 1980. When Abdnor sought re-election to the Senate in 1986, he survived a bruising Republican primary challenge from then-Gov. Bill Janklow, but he was defeated in the general election by then-U.S. Rep. Tom Daschle.
• Saturday's funeral was attended by Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson, Republican Rep. Kristi

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