Elizabeth Edwards was laid to rest Saturday at a North Carolina church four days after she lost her battle with breast cancer at age 61.
Former Sen. John Edwards and his three children joined more than 1,200 mourners for the 1 p.m. service, held at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Edenton, N.C.
"She has been a light house to all of us. She's always been that source of light to us. Every lesson she has taught us has become part of our ethic," Edwards' oldest daughter, Cate, said in a eulogy to her mother.
The political wife and author's close friend Hargrave McElroy and former University of North Carolina Law School classmate Glenn Bergenfield also spoke of their pal's courage and friendship.
Edwards' public memorial service — held amid a steady drizzle — was not without controversy.
A small group of congregants from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., known for picketing military funerals, protested near the church with signs denigrating Edwards. On the other side of the street, reports The News Observer, stood a much larger group, holding signs with the words "hero" and "hope."
The wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards died at her Chapel Hill home Tuesday after battling cancer for the last six years.
"Today we have lost the comfort of Elizabeth's presence, but she remains the heart of this family," the Edwards family said in a statement.
Elizabeth separated from her husband in January after John acknowledged he fathered a child with Rielle Hunter, a former videographer from his unsuccessful run for President.
