Hundreds of mourners streamed into Chicago's Near West Side Monday to pay their final respects to Maggie Daley.
The former first lady of Chicago will be laid to rest after losing her nine-year battle with metastatic breast cancer on Thanksgiving Day at the age of 68.
A public mass and funeral was held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Old St. Pat's Church, at 700 W. Adams St. A 10 a.m. procession began at the Chicago Cultural Center and headed west on Randolph Street past City Hall where her husband Richard Daley once worked. It then headed south on Desplaines to Old St. Pat's.
Fr. Jack Wall was the main celebrant at the mass, with Francis Cardinal George and Bishop Tim Lyne presiding. Her daughters read passages, and Nora, Patrick and Lally Daley delivered a family reflection after communion. Pallbearers included Bill Daley, two son-in-laws and three of Mrs. Daley's brothers.
The mass was emotional yet full of celebration for Mrs. Daley's life, her public work with children and the arts, and her courage in the face of breast cancer.
First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden arrived Monday morning in Chicago, among of a who's who of dignitaries paying respects to Mrs. Daley.
The FAA put up a temporary flight restriction for "VIP movement" from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mrs. Obama and the Bidens will return to Washington D.C. after the funeral, according to the White House.
Many dignitaries paid their respects at the funeral, including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, former White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Bill Daley. Speaker Michael Madigan and his wife were seen sitting in the fourth row with Illinois Senate President John Cullerton. Sens. Mark Kirk and Dick Durbin sat together in the third row.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Gov. Pat Quinn, Rep. Bobby Rush, Rev. Jesse Jackson, city councilmen and county commissioners also were there.
On Sunday, thousands of Chicagoans joined former mayor Daley for visitation at the Cultural Center. Many who never met her said she was a close part of their lives.
"I'm here because Maggie Daley was such an inspiration," said Maggie Brice, one of hundreds of mourners waiting in line to pay their final respects.
Theaters across the city honored Chicago's former first lady by turning off their marquee lights for two minutes at the start of her Sunday memorial.
Tune into NBC5 and NBCChicago.com to watch the procession live at 10 a.m.
