Friends, relatives celebrate Kennedy's life
BOSTON -- Friends, relatives and political comrades celebrated Sen. Edward Kennedy in an all-star Irish wake Friday that highlighted the veteran Massachusetts Democrat's gift for friendship, his love of music and practical jokes, and the storied family that supported him in his final illness.
Kennedy died Tuesday of brain cancer at the age of 77.
The last of a band of brothers whose father pointed them for political power and whose tragedies and triumphs are intertwined with five decades of the nation's history, Kennedy never became president but he is exiting the national stage like one.
Mourners at his funeral Saturday will include former presidents of both parties and more than 86 current and former members of Congress. President Obama will deliver a eulogy.
Afterward, there will be a flight to Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington and one last stately, sentimental procession to the U.S. Capitol where members of the public and Kennedy's staff will line up to bid him farewell. Then comes a hero's burial in Arlington National Cemetery next to the slain siblings whose mantle he inherited, former president John Kennedy and Sen. Robert Kennedy.
Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee and Kennedy's longtime Massachusetts colleague, argued that the youngest of the Kennedy brothers may have left the most impressive legacy.
"For 1,000 days in the White House, John Kennedy inspired us. For 80 days on the presidential campaign trail, Robert Kennedy gave us reason to believe and hope again," Kerry said. "And for more than 17,000 days in the United States Senate, Ted Kennedy changed the course of history as only few others ever have."
More than 50,000 people stood in line to pay their last respects to Kennedy before Friday's memorial at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, "this library which Teddy built," a quivery-voiced Caroline Kennedy, the senator's niece, said.
The three-hour celebration before 600 invited guests took its lighthearted theme from Kennedy's infectiously optimistic personality.
Related Stories
ABC News Live