● Biographical data: Lady Bird Johnson, who was born Claudia Alta Taylor on Dec. 22, 1912, in the East Texas town of Karnack, got her nickname in infancy from a caretaker nurse who said she was as "pretty as a lady bird."
She married Lyndon Baines Johnson seven weeks after their first date, Nov. 17, 1934; she had two daughters: Lynda Bird in 1944 and Luci Baines in 1947.
She became first lady upon President John F. Kennedy's assassination on Nov. 22, 1963.
She died Wednesday at her Austin home of natural causes and will be buried today next to her husband at the LBJ Ranch.
● The scene: Two huge, multicolored floral displays at the front of the Riverbend Centre sanctuary included wildflowers and blooms from the gardens of friends of the former first lady, an environmentalist devoted to preserving wildflowers and native plants. Behind the pulpit, a large window looked out onto the Texas Hill Country.
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● Who was there: About 1,800 people attended a private funeral Saturday for former first lady Lady Bird Johnson, including:
First lady Laura Bush;
Former first lady Barbara Bush;
Former first lady Nancy Reagan;
Former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton;
Former President Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalynn Carter;
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy;
Trisha Nixon Cox, daughter of the late President Richard Nixon;
Susan Ford Bales, daughter of the late President Gerald Ford;
and Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita.
"She's once again united with her man for rides together through the ranch in the sky." — Tom Johnson, a family friend and chairman of the LBJ Foundation
"She seemed to grow calmer as the world around her grew more furious." — Bill Moyers, who was President Johnson's press secretary, as he recalled her unfailing dignity when confronted with the most vicious attacks from opponents of the Johnson administration
"She was just a whale of a lot of fun to be with. She had a delicious sense of humor, sometimes slightly mischievous, laced with surprises not always in keeping with her image." — Harry Middleton, retired director of the LBJ Library and Museum
