February 4, 1971

Dear Mr. President, Dear Mrs. Nixon --

You were so kind to us yesterday. Never have I seen such magnanimity and such tenderness.

Can you imagine the gift you gave me? To return to the White House privately with my little ones while they are still young enough to rediscover their childhood -- with you both as guides -- and with your daughters, such extraordinary young women.

What a tribute to have brought them up like that in the limelight. I pray I can do half the same with my Caroline. It was good to see her exposed to their example, and John to their charm!

You spoiled us beyond belief . . . I have never seen the White House look so perfect. There is no hidden corner of it that is not beautiful now.

It was moving, when we left, to see that great House illuminated, with the fountains playing.

The way you have hung the portraits does them great honor -- more than they deserve. They should not have been such trouble to you. . . .

It made me happy to hear the children bursting with reminiscences all the way home. Before John went to sleep, I could explain the photographs of Jack and him in his room, to him. "There you are with Daddy right where the President was describing the Great Seal; there, on the path where the President accompanied us to our car."

Your kindness made real memories of his shadowy ones.

Thank you with all my heart. A day I always dreaded turned out to be one of the most precious ones I have spent with my children.

May God bless you all.

Most gratefully,

Jackie

Source: Nixon Library

Research by Steven L. Brawley

Jackie's Funeral Service and Burial

Order of Service

St. Ignatius Loyola Church, New York City

May 23, 1994

• Musical Prelude: Faure Requiem; Suite, Opus 5-Maurice Durufle; Two monets-Maurice Durufle; "Blessed is the Man Who Lives Rightly"- Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Processional Hymn: "We Gather Together"
• Funeral Readings and Song:
• Isaiah 25: 6A, 7-9 (New American Bible) - John F. Kennedy, Jr.
• Responsorial Psalm: 23rd Psalm (King James Version) - Jane Hitchcock
• Revelation 21: I-5A, 6B-7 (New American Bible) - Mike Nichols
• Gospel: John 14: I-8 - Father Walter F. Modrys, S.J.
• Homily: "Ithaka" by C.P. Cavafy - Maurice Tempelsman
• Prayer of the Faithful - responsorial prayer with readings by Nancy Tuckerman, Sydney Lawford McKelvy, Anna Christina Radziwill, Edwin Schlossberg
• "Memory of Cape Cod" by Edna St. Vincent Millay - Caroline Kennedy
• Eulogy by Senator Edward M. Kennedy
• Offertory Song: "Panis Angelicus" by Cesar Franck - Jessye Norman
• Communion Song: "Ave Maria" by Franz Shubert - Jessye Norman
• Recessional: "America the Beautiful" by Katharine L. Bates

Eulogy by Edward M. Kennedy

Last summer, when we were on the upper deck of the boat at the vineyard, waiting for President and Mrs. Clinton to arrive, Jackie turned to me and said, ``Teddy, you go down and greet the President.'' I said, ``Maurice is already there.'' And Jackie answered: ``Teddy, you do it. Maurice isn't running for re-election.''

She was always there, for all our family, in her special way. She was a blessing to us and to the Nation, and a lesson to the world on how to do things right, how to be a mother, how to appreciate history, how to be courageous. No one else looked like her, spoke like her, wrote like her, or was so original in the way she did things. No one we knew ever had a better sense of self.

Eight months before she married Jack, they went together to President Eisenhower's inaugural ball. Jackie said later that that's where they decided they liked inaugurations. No one ever gave more meaning to the title of First Lady. The Nation's capital city looks as it does because of her. She saved Lafayette Square and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Jackie brought the greatest artists to the White House, and brought the arts to the center of national attention. Today, in large part because of her inspiration and vision, the arts are an abiding part of national policy.

President Kennedy took such delight in her brilliance and her spirit. At a White House dinner, he once leaned over and told the wife of the French Ambassador: ``Jackie speaks fluent French. But I only understand one out of every five words she says--and that word is `de Gaulle.' ''

And then, during those four endless days in 1963, she held us together as a family and a country. In large part because of her, we could grieve and then go on. She lifted us up, and in the doubt and darkness, she gave her fellow citizens back their pride as Americans. She was then 34 years old.

Afterward, as the eternal flame she lit flickered in the autumn of Arlington Cemetery, Jackie went on to do what she most wanted--to raise Caroline and John, and warm her family's life and that of all the Kennedys. Robert Kennedy sustained her, and she helped make it possible for Bobby to continue. She kept Jack's memory alive, as she carried Jack's mission on.

Her two children turned out to be extraordinary, honest, unspoiled and with a character equal to hers. And she did it in the most trying of circumstances. They are her two miracles. Her love for Caroline and John was deep and unqualified. She reveled in their accomplishments, she hurt with their sorrows, and she felt sheer joy and delight spending time with them. At the mere mention of their names, Jackie's eyes would shine brighter and her smile would grow bigger.

She once said that if you ``bungle raising your children nothing else much matters in life.'' She didn't bungle. Once again, she showed how to do the most important thing of all, and do it right. When she went to work, Jackie became a respected professional in the world of publishing. And because of her, remarkable books came to life. She searched out new authors and ideas. She was interested in everything.

Her love of history became a devotion to historic preservation. You knew, when Jackie joined the cause to save a building in Manhattan, the bulldozers might as well turn around and go home. She had a wonderful sense of humor--a way of focusing on someone with total attention--and a little girl delight in who they were and what they were saying. It was a gift of herself that she gave to others. And in spite of all her heartache and loss, she never faltered.

I often think of what she said about Jack in December after he died: ``They made him a legend, when he would have preferred to be a man.'' Jackie would have preferred to be just herself, but the world insisted that she be a legend, too.

She never wanted public notice--in part I think, because it brought back painful memories of an unbearable sorrow, endured in the glare of a million lights. In all the years since then, her genuineness and depth of character continued to shine through the privacy and reach people everywhere. Jackie was too young to be a widow in 1963, and too young to die now.

Her grandchildren were bringing new joy to her life, a joy that illuminated her face whenever you saw them together. Whether it was taking Rose and Tatiana for an ice cream cone, or taking a walk in Central Park with little Jack as she did last Sunday, she relished being Grand Jackie and showering her grandchildren with love.

At the end, she worried more about us than herself. She let her family and friends know she was thinking of them. How cherished were those wonderful notes in her distinctive hand on her powder blue stationery.

In truth, she did everything she could, and more, for each of us. She made a rare and noble contribution to the American spirit. But for us, most of all she was a magnificent wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. She graced our history. And for those of us who knew and loved her, she graced our lives.

Poem Reading by Caroline Kennedy 

The poem I'm going to read comes from a book my mother kept on a special bookshelf in her room. The front of the book reads `Marie McKinney Memorial Award in Literature, First Prize.'' Presented to Jacqueline Bouvier, June 1946. And the poem is called ``Memory of Cape Cod'' by Edna St. Vincent Millay. 

The wind in the ash tree sounds like surf on the shore at Truro.

I will shut my eyes.

Hush. Be still with your silly pleading sheep on Shilling Stone Hill.

They said, come along.

They said, leave your pebbles on the sand and come along.

It's long after sunset.

The mosquitoes will be thick in the pine woods along by Long Neck.

The winds died down. They said, leave your pebbles on the sand and your shells too and come along.

We'll find you another beach like the beach at Truro.

Let me listen to the wind in the ash. It sounds like the surf on the shore.

Reading by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. 

Before reading a passage from the Book of Isaiah, he said that in choosing the readings for the service, ``we struggled to find ones that captured my mother's essence.'' He said three attributes came to mind. ``They were the love of words, the bonds of home and family, and her spirit of adventure.''

Reading by Maurice Templesman 

``Ithaka'' By C.P. Cavafy

As you set out for Ithaka hope the voyage is a long one,full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laistrygonians and Cyclops, angry Poseidon--don't be afraid of them:

you'll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body.

Laistrygonians and Cyclops, wild Poseidon--you won't encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul, unless your soul sets them up in

front of you. Hope the voyage is a long one. May there be many a summer

morning when, with what pleasure, what joy, you come into harbors seen for the

first time; may you stop at Phoenician trading station to buy fine things,

mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfume of every kind--

as many sensual perfumes as you can, and may you visit many Egyptian cities

to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for.

But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you

reach the island, wealth with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her, you would not have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now. And if you find her poor,

Ithaka won't have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean. 

Then, he concluded with his own words:

``And now the journey is over, too short, alas, too short.  It was filled with adventure and wisdom, laughter and love, gallantry and grace. So farewell, farewell.''

Order of Service at Arlington National Cemetery

May 23, 1994

• Introduction: by Reverend Philip M. Hannan
• Eulogy by President William J. Clinton
• Readings and Song:
• I Thessalonians 4: 13-18 (King James Version) - John F. Kennedy, Jr.
• Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 121 (King James Version) - Caroline Kennedy
• Recitation of the Lord's Prayer
• Final Prayer and Benediction - Reverend Philip M. Hannan
• Responsory
• Hymn: "Eternal Father" by John B. Dykes - U.S. Navy Sea Chanters

Eulogy by President William J. Clinton

We are joined here today at the site of the eternal flame, lit by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis 31 years ago, to bid farewell to this remarkable woman whose life will forever glow in the lives of her fellow Americans.

Whether she was soothing a nation grieving for a former President, or raising the children with the care and the privacy they deserve, or simply being a good friend, she seemed always to do the right thing in the right way.

She taught us by example about the beauty of art, the meaning of culture, the lessons of history, the power of personal courage, the nobility of public service and, most of all, the sanctity of family. God gave her very great gifts and imposed upon her great burdens. She bore them all with dignity and grace and uncommon common sense. In the end, she cared most about being a good mother to her children, and the lives of Caroline and John leave no doubt that she was that and more.

Hillary and I are especially grateful that she took so much time to talk about the importance of raising children away from the public eye, and we will always remember the wonderful, happy times we shared together last summer.

With admiration, love and gratitude, for the inspiration and the dreams she gave to all of us, we say goodbye to Jackie today.

May the flame she lit so long ago, burn ever brighter here and always brighter in our hearts.

God bless you friend, and farewell.

Sources: U.S. Senate Document 103-32 and JFK Library.

November 30, 1963

Dear Mrs. Tippit,

What can I say to you -- my husband's death is responsible for you losing your husband. Wasn't one life enough to take on that day?

You must be so bitter, I don't blame you if you are...

If there is ever anything I can do for you for the rest of my life, if would make me so happy if I knew you would ask me.

I lit a flame for Jack at Arlington that will burn forever. I consider that it burns for your husband too and so will everyone who ever sees it.

With my inexpressible sympathy,

Jacqueline Kennedy

Source: NBC News, Nov. 19, 2013

Research by Steven L. Brawley

Selections from Jackie's November 29, 1963 Interview with Theodore White for Life Magazine

• "The sun was so strong in our faces. I couldn't put on sunglasses... Then we saw this tunnel ahead, I thought it would be cool in the tunnel..."
• "They were gunning the motorcycles. There were these little backfires. There was one noise like that. I thought it was a backfire..."
• "Then next I saw Connally grabbing his arms and saying "no, no, no, no, no," with his fist beating. Then Jack turned and I turned. All I remember was a blue-gray building up ahead. Then Jack turned back so neatly, his last expression was so neat... you know that wonderful expression he had when they'd ask him a question about one of the ten million pieces they have in a rocket, just before he'd answer."
• "He looked puzzled, then he slumped forward. He was holding out his hand ... I could see a piece of his skull coming off. It was flesh-colored, not white - he was holding out his hand ... I can see this perfectly clean piece detaching itself from his head. Then he slumped in my lap, his blood and his brains were in my lap ... Then Clint Hill [the Secret Service man], he loved us, he made my life so easy, he was the first man in the car ... We all lay down in the car ... And I kept saying, Jack, Jack, Jack, and someone was yelling "he's dead, he's dead." All the ride to the hospital I kept bending over him, saying "Jack, Jack, can you hear me, I love you, Jack."
• "His head was so beautiful. I tried to hold the top of his head down, maybe I could keep it in... but I knew he was dead."
• "When they carried Jack in, Hill threw his coat over Jack's head, and I held his head to throw the coat over it. It wasn't repulsive to me for one moment - nothing was repulsive to me."
• "These big Texas interns kept saying, "Mrs. Kennedy, you come with us", they wanted to take me away from him...But I said "I'm not leaving"... Dave Powers came running to me at the hospital, crying when he saw me, my legs, my hands were covered with his brains... When Dave saw this he burst out weeping... I said "I'm not going to leave him, I'm not going to leave him"... I was standing outside in this narrow corridor... ten minutes later this big policeman brought me a chair."
• I said, "I want to be in there when he dies"... so Burkeley forced his way into the operating room and said, "It's her prerogative, it's her prerogative..." and I got in, there were about forty people there. Dr. Perry wanted to get me out. But I said "It's my husband, his blood, his brains are all over me."
• "I held his hand all the time the priest was saying extreme unction."
• "The ring was all blood-stained... so I put the ring on Jack's finger... and then I kissed his hand..."
• "Every time we got off the plane that day, three times they gave me the yellow roses of Texas. But in Dallas they gave me red roses. I thought how funny, red roses - so all the seat was full of blood and red roses."
• "But there's this one thing I wanted to say... I'm so ashamed of myself... When Jack quoted something, it was usually classical... no, don't protect me now... I kept saying to Bobby, I've got to talk to somebody, I've got to see somebody, I want to say this one thing, it's been almost an obsession with me, all I keep thinking of is this line from a musical comedy, it's been an obsession with me..."
• "At night before we'd go to sleep... we had an old Victrola. Jack liked to play some records. His back hurt, the floor was so cold. I'd get out of bed at night and play it for him, when it was so cold getting out of bed... on a Victrola ten years old - and the song he loved most came at the very end of this record, the last side of Camelot, sad Camelot... "Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot."...There'll never be another Camelot again..."
• "Do you know what I think of history? ... For a while I thought history was something that bitter old men wrote. But Jack loved history so... No one'll ever know everything about Jack. But ... history made Jack what he was ... this lonely, little sick boy ... scarlet fever ... this little boy sick so much of the time, reading in bed, reading history ... reading the Knights of the Round Table ... and he just liked that last song."
• "Then I thought, for Jack history was full of heroes. And if it made him this way, if it made him see the heroes, maybe other little boys will see. Men are such a combination of good and bad ... He was such a simple man. But he was so complex, too. Jack had this hero idea of history, the idealistic view, but then he had that other side, the pragmatic side... his friends were all his old friends; he loved his Irish Mafia."
• "Everybody kept saying to me to put a cold towel around my head and wipe the blood off... later, I saw myself in the mirror; my whole face spattered with blood and hair... I wiped it off with Kleenex..."
• "I thought, no one really wants me there. Then one second later I thought, why did I wash the blood off? I should have left it there, let them see what they've done... If I'd just had the blood and caked hair when they took the picture ... Then later I said to Bobby - what's the line between history and drama? I should have kept the blood on."

Notes: In 1969 Theodore White donated the notes of his interview to the JFK Library, to be made fully public only after Jackie's death. They were released on 26 May 1995.