I almost resent, Vice President Bush, your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy.
– Geraldine Ferraro SOURCE: The New Republic
On this last day of Women's History Month 2011, we sadly put to rest a woman who made American history. In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro ran for Vice President of the United States. She was the first woman to do so, and on the campaign trail as well as in the debates she did us proud. She was brilliant, beautiful, and tough, much like the presidential candidate she chose to support 23 years later. Hillary Clinton attended Geraldine's funeral mass at St. Vincent Ferrer Church this morning. It was a private funeral, but cameras caught her arrival.
Many dignitaries, friends and colleagues of Geraldine's, attended. We do not have photos of them all. I know Nancy Pelosi and Walter Mondale, Geraldine's 1984 running mate were there, although I have not found their photos. Below is a slideshow of some familiar faces and the casket entering and leaving the church. It rained. My mother used to say that if it rained on the day of your funeral, it was a sign that your soul went straight to heaven. It rained for my mom. When we buried my dad, I was apprehensive because it was not raining, but at the cemetery there was a sudden cloudburst, and it rained a deluge. There was a cloudburst as Celia Cruz's horse-drawn hearse came within one block of St. Patrick's Cathedral. And, as you see, today it rained for Gerri.
We will miss you, Gerri. Thank you for your service and for all you did for women. We will never forget you or the history you made.
