Thaindian News

By Madhuri Dey
Jan 23, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Robert Sargent Shriver’s funeral on Saturday witnessed several eminent personalities who had gathered to pay their last tribute to the man who himself has been a great source of inspiration for many. U.S First Lady Michelle Obama, former U.S President Bill Clinton,Vice President Joe Biden, U2 frontman Bono and almost the entire Kennedy clan had turned up for the last rites of the man who was the founder of the Peace Corps.

Everyone present at the Our Lady of Mercy Parish, the family church of the Shrivers saw the loved ones of the first director of Peace Corps carrying the casket to the church in Potomac, Maryland. Along with these key political figures, hundreds of other people had come to attend the funeral ceremony of the former Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate. Sargent Shriver breathed his last on January 18 after battling eight years of Alzheimer’s disease. Daughter of Sargent Shriver, Maria Shriver and wife of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recalled how her father had been a role model for many with his revolutionary ideas. She said that her father’s works had indeed changed the lives of many. Not only was the former First Lady of California seen recollecting the memories, former President Bill Clinton too nodded his head in agreement saying that Sargent Shriver had been an inspiration for him and his wife Hillary Clinton during the crisis period of the 1960s and 1970s.

Other eminent personalities who had come to pay their last respect to Sargent Shriver included Muhammad Ali, Oprah Winfrey, Clint Eastwood and ex House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The funeral hymns were sung by Bono, Wyclef Jean, Vanessa Williams, soprano Harolyn Blackwell and Irish singer Glen Hansard.