Lady Bird Johnson given warm memorial amid wildflowers

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN/AP: Lady Bird Johnson given warm memorial amid wildflowers


Former President Jimmy Carter sits with presidential wives Nancy Reagan, Rosalynn Carter and Laura Bush.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Lady Bird Johnson's wit, wisdom and love of beauty -- in nature, in children and in democracy -- were remembered Saturday as family, friends and presidents bade farewell at her funeral.

"It is unthinkable to me that she's gone. She was so much a part of our landscape, so much a part of our lives," Bill Moyers, a television host and former aide to President Lyndon Johnson, said at the service.

The former first lady died Wednesday at age 94 of natural causes.

Along with her devotion to preserving wildflowers and native plants, Lady Bird Johnson worked tirelessly for her husband's political career, Moyers said. He recalled her marathon stumping through the South during the 1964 presidential campaign amid anger that raged at Lyndon Johnson over his signing of the Civil Rights Act.

The first lady trudged on despite threats, hecklers and racist signs, Moyers said.

"Yes, she planted flowers," he said. "She also loved democracy and saw a beauty in it."

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, first lady Laura Bush and former first ladies Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton attended the two-hour service at Riverbend Centre overlooking the Texas Hill Country....

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/14/ladybird.funeral.ap/index.html

[madrchsod]

1. where was the baby?

i wonder if pickles knows no one will give a crap when she leaves...

[havocmom]

2. Lovely tribute to her in a Lounge thread

Some rather beautiful pics of wildflowers posted by DUer Shakespeare
Thank you for the wildflowers, Ladybird

Pickles will be remembered by designers of boring, mediocre clothing

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Thank you, havocmom! nt

[kskiska]

4. Lady Bird had never even heard of Crawford, Texas

From Liz Smith's NY Post column:

(snip)

…Asked how she felt about President Bush, Mrs. Johnson deflected any critical talk in this manner. "You know, having lived all my youthful life in Texas and Lyndon's having been in politics, I thought there wasn't a single place in Texas, not a hill nor a dale, that I didn't know about. I must confess until the new president was elected, I had never heard of Crawford, Texas!"

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07152007/gossip/liz/paris_is_churning_liz_liz_smith.htm?page=2