Mourners in Capitol trade Richards remembrances
Ex-governor is widely praised for motivational skills
AUSTIN - Personal remembrances of the late Gov. Ann Richards, tales of wit, humor, dedication to public service and dreams of improving humanity filled the Capitol on Saturday as the state's 45th governor lay in state for the first of two days of public visitation.
Several thousand people — from teachers and nurses to a former president of the United States — lined up to say farewell. Richards was in a simple cherry wood coffin with a Texas flag draped over it.
On either side were large sprays of white chrysanthemums, roses, lilies and tulips, with tendrils of ivy hanging down.
But apparently in the minds of many Texans, it is the yellow rose that represents Richards. Visitors were not allowed to bring flowers into the Capitol, so a stack of yellow roses grew outside. Many had notes attached.
"Thank you for all that you've done for women in Texas. We will miss you badly. Bethany & Deanne Blackstone," read one.
The line to enter the Capitol stretched a quarter of the way around the building and remained long for more than an hour, even as people entered the statehouse. Ninety minutes passed before the line began to dissipate.
"I was here before daylight," said Laura Tatman, 60, a nurse in Austin. "I've always admired her ... When she became governor, she got rid of the good-ol'-boy thing."
With a 12-week-old adopted baby girl named Felah squawking on her shoulder, Ann Arellano stopped by the casket to pay her respects.
"I met Ann Richards when I was 13," said Arellano, now 28. "It was just an amazing experience. She was just so down to earth. She hugged me and took a picture ... She helped me really believe I could do things."
Clinton was escort
Richards died Wednesday after a long battle against esophageal cancer.
The ceremony to bring Richards' body into the Capitol for the final time began shortly before 8:30 a.m.
Former President Bill Clinton and Richards' four children — Cecile, Dan, Clark and Ellen — escorted the Texas-flag-draped coffin into the rotunda through a saber-arch created by the Ross Volunteers.
Dan and Ellen Richards, choked by tears, introduced Clinton and thanked him for speaking afterward. "This is a very sad day for me," Dan Richards said.
The former president also had to pause before delivering his eulogy.
"She was Texas on parade," Clinton said. "For 30-plus years, that is certainly what she was to me and Hillary."
Clinton described Richards as larger than life.
"First, she was big. Big hair. Big bright eyes. Big blinding smile. She also had a big heart, big dreams; did big deeds," he said.
Clinton praised Richards for opening the doors of government to women and minorities. He said if it had not been for Richards, it is unlikely the Texas Department of Public Safety honor guard that escorted her coffin into the rotunda would have been led "by a woman in a cowboy hat."
The former president said Richards "really believed we could make a world where everyone could be a winner ... where young girls grew up to be scientists, engineers, police officers and politicians, where people, without regard to color, condition or orientation were treated as God's children, where the dreams and the spirit were as big as the sky in her beloved home."
Monday service
More than 50 members of Richards family and close friends were in the rotunda for the private ceremony that was held before the Capitol doors were opened to the public.
A memorial service is scheduled for noon Monday at the University of Texas Frank Erwin Center. A private burial is planned at an undisclosed time.
Those expected to attend the Monday service include U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Democrats Hillary Clinton of New York and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. Former Texas Govs. Dolph Briscoe and Mark White also are expected, as well as movie stars Sandra Bullock and Lily Tomlin.
Richards became a national celebrity with a 1988 Democratic National Convention speech that took the famous "silver foot" dig at then-Vice President George Bush, but she also endeared the nation by mentioning her new "nearly perfect" granddaughter, Lily.
"When I hold that grandbaby, I feel the continuity of life that unites us, that binds generation to generation, that ties us with each other," Richards said.
Lily Adams, now 19, stood though Saturday's ceremony, clutching a Texas flag that had flown over the Capitol on the day of her grandmother's death. The flag was privately presented to the family by Gov. Rick Perry.
Tears streamed down the faces of Austin residents Cecelia Burke and Lynda Liberian Baker, both 55, as they passed Richards' bier. They said they had known Richards for years through Travis County women's politics.
"She's just such an inspiration for women. Women knew they could grow and achieve and do anything they want. So I wanted to come pay my respects and say goodbye," Burke said.
Baker said, "People feel like they know Ann Richards, because that's what kind of leader she was."
Setting the stage
Stanton Lawrence, the former principal of Kashmere High School in Houston, said Richards was important for African-Americans such as himself. He noted she appointed Ron Kirk as secretary of state, setting the stage for him to become the first black mayor of Dallas.
"She was always supporting people who were down on their luck, and she particularly tried to open state government to women and minorities — something that historically hadn't happened," Stanton said.
Linda Williamson, 55, of Austin, said she knew Richards in passing from working in state government. She did not think Richards knew who she was, but the governor pulled her out of a crowd one day.
"She came straight to me and said, 'Linda,' and I said, 'My God, she knows my name!'" Williamson said. "She was an advocate for women, particularly minorities."
Genera Hernandez, 61, a retired security officer, said his family knew Richards from Travis County politics. He also said her capacity to make friends was broad.
"She was a loving person, had no strangers. Everybody was her friend," Hernandez said. "Anytime she met anybody, even street people, she would say hi. She wouldn't ignore anybody."
