Elizabeth Edwards' funeral

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Elizabeth Edwards' funeral

Photos: Elizabeth Edwards is laid to rest in Raleigh, N.C.

People gathered near the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, to block members of the WestBoro Baptist Church protesting outside Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, N.C.

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his children, Emma Claire, (left) Jack and Cate, (far right) leave the funeral service for Elizabeth Edwards.

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards comforts his daughter Emma Claire as they leave the funeral service for Elizabeth Edwards at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. Edwards died Tuesday of cancer at the age of 61.

John Edwards and his daughter Cate leave the funeral service for Elizabeth Edwards at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. Family and friends of Elizabeth Edwards remembered her Saturday as a political sage, an idealistic law student and a mother who comforted her family even as she was dying of breast cancer.

Elizabeth's oldest daughter, Cate, eulogized her mother, recalling her strength, grace and witty recommendations about everything from clothing to marriage. "She's been a lighthouse to all of us -- a point of guidance when we all feel lost," Cate Edwards said.

Cate Edwards speaks during the funeral services. "There aren't words that are good enough," she said. Her eulogy contained a passage from a letter her mother spent years preparing to leave to her children after she was gone.

Supporters of Elizabeth Edwards gather at the intersection of Salisbury and Edenton streets a few blocks east of her memorial service in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday morning, December 11, 2010. Many were on hand to counter-protest members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, who are known for picketing outside of funerals.

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Elizabeth Edwards from the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh.

Former U.S. Senator John Edwards, daughter Emma Claire Edwards, (left) son Jack Edwards, (center) and oldest daughter Cate Edwards, (right) leave the sanctuary following funeral services for Elizabeth Edwards at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh on Saturday, December 11, 2010.

Former U.S. Senator John Edwards leaves the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his children Emma Claire, Jack, and Cate. Elizabeth Edwards was first diagnosed with cancer in 2004, a day after the Kerry-Edwards ticket lost to George W. Bush in that year's presidential election. Doctors declared her cancer-free after grueling treatments, but the disease returned in an incurable form in 2007. She died Tuesday.

Edwards' funeral drew hundreds to Edenton Street United Methodist Church, where she once mourned her 16-year-old son, Wade, after he died in a car crash in 1996. She was buried next to him during a private ceremony on Saturday.

: Sen. John Kerry, D-Ma., arrives for funeral services for Elizabeth Edwards on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. The memorial brought several political figures, including Sen. Kerry, who led the Democratic presidential ticket in 2004 that included John Edwards, and North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue.

Pallbearers carry the casket containing the body of Elizabeth Edwards towards a hearse following funeral services at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh. Two of Elizabeth Edwards' longtime friends, Hargrave McElroy and Glenn Bergenfield, also gave eulogies.

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People gathered near the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, to block members of the WestBoro Baptist Church protesting outside Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, N.C.

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