Family, Political Luminaries Honor Kennedy

(CBS/AP)  Last updated at 11:48 p.m. Eastern

In death as in life, Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy on Friday brought together political rivals - this time to celebrate his life and half-century of service to his country.

A who's who of politics gathered at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston for the private service featuring music, laughter and plenty of anecdotes about Edward Kennedy's ferocious sense of humor and kindnesses shown to strangers who soon became friends.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, a GOP colleague, said he'd fought like a brother with Kennedy for 33 years and "loved every minute of it."

"I miss fighting in public and joking with him in the background. I miss all the things we could do together," Hatch said. He recalled that Kennedy once dressed as an Elvis impersonator at a staff holiday party, would frequently blow cigar smoke in his direction during their early years of political committee debates, and "just knew how to push people's buttons."

With the public viewing now over, the Kennedys want a lighter-hearted celebration of his life, reports CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod. It will contrast with the solemnity of the motorcade that carried Kennedy's body from Cape Cod to Boston a day earlier and the sobriety of the public viewing, where an estimated 50,000 people filed past the senator's flag-draped coffin at the presidential library named for one of his slain brothers.

The event honors Kennedy's love of family and friends and his commitment to public service. Speakers included Vice President Joe Biden; Sens. John McCain, Orrin Hatch, John Kerry and Christopher Dodd; and niece Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy.

Watch speakers from the memorial for Sen. Edward Kennedy:
Former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy
Sen. John McCain
Sen. Chris Dodd
Sen. John Kerry
Vice President Joe Biden
Sen. Orrin Hatch
Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg

"He suffered from the constant pain of a shattered back, and he bore more hurt and heartache than most human beings are ever asked to endure, but at every opportunity he brought hope and joy and optimism to more people than we will ever know," said longtime friend Paul Kirk Jr., chairman of the library's foundation.

CBSNews.com's complete coverage of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's life and death

Kennedy's friend, Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, sang Kennedy's favorite song, ``The Impossible Dream'' from the musical ``Man of La Mancha,'' for which Mitchell was nominated for a Tony Award. And a video tribute directed by renowned documentarian Ken Burns and Mark Herzog was played.

The speakers, many of whom worked for years with Kennedy in the Senate, were sharing stories of his congeniality and knack for compromise as they recalled his congressional successes - and the ones he had yet to achieve when he died this week of a brain tumor at age 77, most notably the struggle for health care reform.

His closest friend in the Senate, Democrat Christopher Dodd, of Connecticut, noted the friendships he made across the aisle, and singled out Hatch and McCain.

"It is to their great credit that they so often supported Teddy's efforts. And, I say in some jest, it is to Teddy's great credit that he so rarely supported theirs," Dodd said to an eruption of laughter.

"John Fitzgerald Kennedy inspired our America; Robert Kennedy challenged our America; and Teddy changed our America," Dodd said. "Teddy was involved in every major debate in the last half of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st. Nearly every important law passed in the last half century bears his mark, and a great many of them bear his name."

Sen. John Kerry also paid tribute to Kennedy's accomplishments in the Senate.

"Without Ted, 18-year-olds might not be able to vote," Kerry said. "There might not be a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Meals on Wheels, student loans, increases in the minimum wage, equal funding for women's college sports, health insurance portability, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the first billions for AIDS research, workplace safety, Americorps, or the Children's Health Insurance Program."

Sen. John McCain talked about working with Kennedy on immigration reform legislation a few years ago, saying he was the "most reliable, the most prepared, and the most persistent member of the Senate."

"We had a daily morning meeting with other interested senators. He and I would meet for a few minutes in advance, and decide between us which members of our respective caucuses needed a little special encouragement or on occasion a little straight talk. If a member tried to back out of a previous commitment, Ted made certain they understood the consequences of their action. It didn't matter to him that the offender was a member of his own caucus," McCain said. "And though on most issues I very much wished he would give up, he taught me to be a better senator."

Like many other speakers during the Friday night service, Vice President Joe Biden talked about hearing from Kennedy in his times of need, notably after his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident just weeks after he was elected.

"He took on the role of being my older brother," Biden said, talking about his early time in the Senate.

Kennedy's niece, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, said traveling in the motorcade reminded her of the family history trips her Uncle Teddy would organize for her and her cousins when they were children. Over the years, they would visit the Washington monument, Valley Forge, the Brooklyn Bridge and Bunker Hill, among other sites.

"Now Teddy has become a part of history and we are the ones who will have to do all the things he would have done, for us, for each other and for our country,'' Schlossberg said.

CBS News Special Report: Ted Kennedy - The Last Brother

The health care bill on which Kennedy took the lead has been among the most controversial pieces of legislation considered by Congress in recent years. Protests have erupted around the country, and opponents have called it a nationalized - even socialized - program.

Anyone addressing the health care bill at the service would tread a fine line between taste and politics, especially since conservative commentators have already objected to proposals to name the measure The Kennedy Bill.

The dangers of politicizing a memorial event were illustrated by a 2002 memorial for Sen. Paul Wellstone, a Minnesota Democrat who was killed in a plane crash. The event became a political pep rally that turned off many voters, and some observers attributed it to Republican Norm Coleman's victory over Wellstone stand-in Walter Mondale in the special election.

Read more stories on Sen. Kennedy's life and death at CBSNews.com:

CBS News Special: Ted Kennedy - The Last Brother
Kennedy To Be Missed in Health Care Fight
Kennedy Did His Life's Work Until the End
Kennedy's Bad Boy Days
Who Is Heir to Kennedy's Liberal Legacy?

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Friday that he planned to touch on Kennedy's blend of a "larger-than-life quality and his down-to-earth quality."

"He had such a lovely touch with people and did things, acts of real grace, that were out of public view, that were incredibly transformative and meaningful for the individual," the governor told reporters Friday during a visit to Martha's Vineyard.

Plans for the private memorial picked up speed Friday afternoon after officials ended the two-day public viewing at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Maureen Conte, 44, rode her bike 40 minutes to the library and was one of the last people allowed in the viewing.

"I did it for my parents," Conte said. "My mom called me and was so sad. She said, 'It's the end of an era.' I came to pay homage to Ted for all he's done for our country."

Greeting visitors were members of the Kennedy family, including daughter Kara Kennedy Allen, nephew Tim Shriver and the senator's sister and the last surviving Kennedy sibling, 81-year-old Jean Kennedy Smith.

Smith, the former U.S. ambassador to Ireland, choked back tears.

"This is a hard time for me," she said when asked to talk about her brother.

A five-person military honor guard stood at attention around the casket in a high-ceilinged room with a spectacular view of Boston Harbor. Large photos greeted mourners on their way into the room, including one of Kennedy as a boy with his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, and a 1960s-era shot of Kennedy with his slain brothers, John and Robert.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, better known as the Mission Church, in Boston on Saturday. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and tenor Placido Domingo will perform, and President Barack Obama is delivering the eulogy.

All the living former presidents are expected to attend except for George H.W. Bush. Spokesman Jim McGrath said Friday that the 85-year-old Bush feels his son's presence will "amply and well represent" the family.

Kennedy will be buried Saturday evening near his brothers at Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia.

[taz1941]

I can remember when the accident happened at Chappaquiddick. I was per-
sonally very saddened about the event. It took me quite awhile to again look at Ted Kennedy with the respect that I had for him before.
However, as I matured and saw how he conducted himself and how much suffering that he endured in his life, I felt a lot more compassion and interest in Ted Kennedy.
For the hate mongers out there let me remind you that it was an accident and not a killing. Go sit on Rush Limbaugh's lap!

[jxknowles]

What an amazing tribute to an honorable man! We as a nation are lucky to have people like Senator Kennedy who get up every day to work tirelessly for this country. Our family and friends are attending every healthcare reform forum within a hundred miles of our community to honor this man.

The venomous detractors, hiding behind their keyboards in anonymity, spewing hateful rhetoric and lies, can hold their heads down in shame. No one cares who you are or what you say. Your ignorance makes us more invigorated. Your hate makes us more determined. Through your foolish words and actions, your are making the voice of reason and intelligence stronger every day.

[pepperwood2]

Why wasn't Bill & Hillary given the opportunity to deliver their fond eulogy farewell to our beloved Ted. What happened? Am I missing something?

[jxknowles]

Give it a rest pepperbrain2. The comment really doesn't resound with anyone. The Clintons were there, as were the Bushes and Carters, to honor a great man. They collectively share the wounds and burden of public service.

[pepperwood2]

With all due respect jack x, it would be nice just to hear it from them after all This Great Man did for them during the Presidential Primary. If I am mistaken you may reply in your usual venomous, hateful rhetoric. So sad!

[cs4466]

Thank you, Senator! You were an inspiration to us all!

Well. Except those few that think Sarah Palin will be president in 2012. Perhaps they could apply for mental health counseling under the public option in health care reform.

[pepperwood2]

Here's a fitting conversation that Senator Dodd forgot to mention.

Mary JO - Ted, I think I'm pregnant?
Ted - We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

"That was what it was like to have Teddy in your corner," he added

[Benton09]

The man is getting buried today and the Third Reich Wing is blasting the guy. Low class Right Wing Warmonger, Money worshippers!

[ivehadit9]

"John Fitzgerald Kennedy inspired our America; Robert Kennedy challenged our America; and Teddy changed our America," Dodd said. "Teddy was involved in every major debate in the last half of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st. Nearly every important law passed in the last half century bears his mark, and a great many of them bear his name."

Sen. John Kerry also paid tribute to Kennedy's accomplishments in the Senate.

"Without Ted, 18-year-olds might not be able to vote," Kerry said. "There might not be a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Meals on Wheels, student loans, increases in the minimum wage, equal funding for women's college sports, health insurance portability, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the first billions for AIDS research, workplace safety, Americorps, or the Children's Health Insurance Program."

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Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.

[nextgenman09]

Mary Jo said she approves of Ted's Legacy.

[woeisme1]

See. The thing is, Ted Kennedy was in the United States Senate for 47 years as you all know. Only two other Senators served longer than Ted Kennedy.

And Ted Kennedy wrote 2500 pieces of legislation in 40 years and 500 of them...thats 500!... were enacted into law! That is an astonishing feat when you considser that Americans feel our government is not doing their job. Ted Kennedy was faithful to his job.

Ted Kennedy served...SERVED...his constituency. He was the consumate politician we all cry today that we want representing us in Washington. He was tireless, loyal to the ideals of his constituency and those ideals reflected the greatness of our society - that greatness of our society which is measured by our treatment of the poor, the weak, the average American who struggles with the powers that be to make a living worth living, for himself, his wife, his children, his family. A living that afforded all Americans the opportunity to be productive in society.

Ted Kennedy represented us all. He was for the working man who each day faced the struggles that marked the difference between the haves and the have nots, the powerful and the less powerful, the rich and the less rich. And he dedicated his life to bridge those disparities, to acknowledge the humanity of Americans, to acknowledge the greatness of the dream and to keep its possibilities open to all who yearned to experience the greatness of the experiment called America.

He loved America. His family has been in American politics for nearly a century. His four brothers all died in service to this country. Joe Jr. in WW2., Jack who was our 35th and youngest President was assassinated. Robert, former Attorney General under his brother John, and later a candidate for President, was assassinated. And now Ted Kennedy.

No matter your political pursuasion, it did'nt matter to Kennedy. He was for us all. It would be, in my estimation, impossible to believe that inspite of Ted Kennedy's frailities, he did not hear the words, "Well done...my faithful servant".

Your life was an inspiration to many. We thank you.

[taz1941]

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you stated. Thank you for those words.

[winstrv]

I wonder if they drove the casket pass Mary Jo's grave so she could see her killer. I guess this "devout Catholic" will finally face the justice that man wouldn't hold him to. RIP Mary Jo!!

[HGOODGUY]

Why don't you Mary Jo cultists give it a rest!!!
In case you haven't figured it out, nobody is listening.

[taz1941]

So, you evidently have a little problems with Catholics as well, do you!!
Your comment was very sick. I am sure that you are perfect in everything that you do. I pray that you never have an unfortunate accident in which someone perishes.

[woeisme1]

Agreed!