The countdown to the close of Vicksburg’s riverfront murals project began officially Friday with the unveiling of the one honoring the late Gov. Kirk Fordice and his wife, Pat.

“You can’t capture inner beauty in a picture,” said Nellie Caldwell, head of the Riverfront Mural Committee, of Pat Fordice, who died in 2007.

If you go

The LeTourneau Technologies mural unveiling will be at 10 a.m. Friday, and the Jitney-Jungle and the Glass Kitchen unveiling will be at 10 a.m. May 29.

Kirk Fordice died in 2004. Before being elected the 61st governor of Mississippi in 1991, the first Republican in the office in 118 years, he was a Vicksburg contractor.

The mural shows the Fordices standing in front of the Governor’s Mansion with Lance, their black Labrador, who is 13 years old and attended Friday’s unveiling. It is the last of three murals that will be unveiled this month — LeTourneau Technologies on Friday and Jitney-Jungle and the Glass Kitchen on May 29 — for a total of 32 on the City Front floodwall. The project has spanned eight years.

Attendees Friday included friends and family of the Fordices, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a Vicksburg native; and Vicksburg legislators Sen. Briggs Hopson and Rep. George Flaggs.

“He (Kirk Fordice) forged a reputation for people from Vicksburg,” said Hosemann.

Flaggs, who served two terms with Kirk Fordice, said, he “was a unique and honorable governor.”

Pat Fordice, Flaggs said, “was the most gracious first lady this state has had.”

Hunter Fordice, one of the couple’s three sons, spoke on behalf of the family.

“I think pride is the foremost feeling,” he said. “I’m proud of the Vicksburg that gave so much to one man.”

Of his mother, Hunter Fordice said, “she was as good a first lady for the Fordice family as she was the state of Mississippi.”

The floodwall murals were painted by Louisiana artist Robert Dafford. A ceremony is being planned to celebrate the completion of the project.

“It’s my honor… to do a portrait of people who are so beloved,” Dafford said of the Fordices.

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Contact Manivanh Chanspasith at mchanprasith@vicksburgpost.com