'A person of greatness': Mourners give Dianne Feinstein fond farewell in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein was remembered Thursday as a hero to women across the United States for her groundbreaking roles in local and national politics. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined other national and local political leaders this week in praising her legacy after she died last Friday.

In a recorded message displayed during the late senator's memorial Thursday on the front steps of San Francisco's City Hall, Biden rattled off adjectives to describe Feinstein: "Tough, prepared, rigorous and compassionate." The president said Feinstein made life better for everyday people and stood for transparency and justice.

Thousands attended the invitation-only event. A montage of images of Feinstein over the years was shown on large screens, capping off an emotional tribute to a woman who served as the oldest member of the Senate before her death. Feinstein died at her home in Washington, D.C. She was 90.

The president said Feinstein was courageous, at times often being the only woman in the room handling key issues and mentoring both women and men alike for a hopeful future.

"Dianne Feinstein built a legacy for generations to come," Biden said "And that’s not an exaggeration."

Feinstein showed women 'could be the mayor'

Mayor London Breed was midway through her praises of Feinstein, thanking her for her leadership as the city's first woman mayor, when a roaring Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets jet piloted by the Blue Angels flew overhead.

"Thank you, Mayor Feinstein, for bringing the Blue Angels to San Francisco in 1981," said Breed, breaking from her prepared comments.

Breed said that because of Feinstein, "We just always accepted that a woman could be in charge, we could do whatever a man can do, we considered it normal. My mother’s generation didn't have it, my grandmother’s generation didn’t have it. Dianne Feinstein showed the way where girls like me could be tough, could be the mayor."

Feinstein's granddaughter, Eileen Mariano, said her grandmother encouraged many women to help shatter the glass ceiling, "and that they too can be leaders and that they deserve a seat at the table. "

Kamala Harris said Feinstein showed 'substance, not showmanship'

Harris called Feinstein a standard bearer for American values, someone who embraced debate but was also willing to compromise for the greater good of the country.

"Simply put, she was a force," Harris said. She said Feinstein consistently showed "Substance, not showmanship. Results, not rhetoric."

Harris said she remembered being a young prosecutor in Oakland, California, driving over to San Francisco when Feinstein and fellow female senatorial candidate Barbara Boxer won their Senate seats in 1992, what many called "The Year of the Woman."

Harris, the nation's first female vice president, said Feinstein remained an inspiration to her.

"Dianne, our country has come a long way and you helped move the ball forward," Harris said. "And our nation salutes you." 

Chuck Schumer says Feinstein stood for integrity

As the accolades for Feinstein continued, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said one adjective came to his mind: "integrity, integrity. Dianne Feinstein was a leader of eternal integrity."

Schumer called Feinstein "a dealmaker" who "when she embraced an issue, she pursued it until the end no matter the consequences, no matter the outcome, it made her a diamond in the Senate."

Schumer said he has never been more proud than when he worked alongside Feinstein when she championed gun control advocacy by authoring the 1994 assault weapons ban then-President Bill Clinton signed into law. 

"Thanks to her unflappability and trademark integrity, America turned a new leaf," Schumer said.

Nancy Pelosi said Feinstein did things on her own terms

Pelosi said Feinstein was a fearless trailblazer.

"Dianne left on her own terms. She was proud to confirm 140 Biden judges and attest that she walked onto that floor last Thursday, which would be her last day, and voted to advance legislation to keep the government open for the people," Pelosi said during the memorial. 

Pelosi recited the lyrics from the song, "American Anthem" by Norah Jones, which she said personified Feinstein.

"Let them say of me I was one who believed in sharing the blessings that I received," Pelosi said. "Let me know in my heart when my days are through, America, America, I gave my best to you."

The day before, Pelosi was among the thousands who stopped by Wednesday to visit Feinstein's body as she lay in state draped over a U.S. flag inside City Hall. Pelosi was a longtime friend and Congressional colleague who lived near Feinstein in San Francisco's hilly Pacific Heights neighborhood.

Pelosi, along with her family, tearfully hugged and kissed Feinstein's casket. She later told reporters the city had paid a beautiful tribute to her.

"It's something she would've just loved," said Pelosi, the first female House speaker, about Feinstein. "She was a person of greatness. She was a stateswoman. She was a national figure, but she was personal...She cared."

Feinstein remembered as San Francisco's former mayor

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin also visited Feinstein's casket Wednesday to pay respect to the lawmakers he said "never actually stopped being the mayor." He remembered how she would call him if something seemed "out of order," ranging from a key issue supervisors were debating to "seeing too much trash" on the streets.

"Her dedication to her hometown never wavered or waned," Peskin said.

During Tuesday's board meeting, Peskin said each supervisor shared "lovely and somber" thoughts about Feinstein. He spoke about Feinstein's list of accomplishments, "her firsts," including being the first woman who served as president of the board of supervisors, the first woman elected as mayor in San Francisco, and the first woman in the U.S. Senate from the state of California.

He noted Feinstein was also the first woman to chair the powerful Senate Rules and Senate Intelligence committees, where she made history for her probe of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation program.

Back home, he said, it was Feinstein's level of care for the details that everyday San Franciscans experienced that helped "knit the city back together" after the assassinations of then-Mayor George Moscone and popular Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978, and other "truly very dark and tumultuous times," Peskin said.

"She often acknowledged that in order to preserve and respect San Francisco’s diversity, the center lane was the best way she could be a fulcrum and balance so many competing needs – which at the time was what San Francisco needed," Peskin said.

'Tireless fighter for justice'Sen. Dianne Feinstein, pioneering LGBTQ ally, celebrated and mourned in San Francisco