The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OTTAWA (CP) - A mourning Ottawa said goodbye Sunday to Lester Pearson, the hum- ble son of a Methodist minister who rose to prime minister, won the Nobel Peaee.Prize and became one of the most personally popu- lar men in Canadian politics. . Jar men in Canadlan ponncs. . "Nothing that can be said can add to the greatness of this man," said Rt. Rev. A. B. B. Moore, a former moderator of the United Church of Canada, as the flag-covered coffin of "Mike" Pearson sat in Christ. Church'Ca- thedral during the state funeral. Under heavy, grey skies, and through rain-rippled slush, the body of the 75-year-old former prime minister was borne from Par- liament Hill Sunday for the ecumenical and bilingual service. Then it was taken to a small, secluded burial plot in the Gatineau hills -of Quebec, north of Ottawa. _ .. Through a bone-chilling blizzard Saturday and the drizzling rain Sunday, about 13,500 people walked silently past the coffin as it lay in Parliampnt's Hall of Honor. There To the slow steady marches, the proces streets, led by a 25-: escort, blue winter c let uniforms. Geoffrey is an external affairs officer tea- ching at the University of British Columbia. Patricia is Mrs. Walter Hannah of Toronto. In his tribute, ut President Richard Nix- on. had said that Mr. Pearson's "accomplish.. ments as an outstanding post-war leader has few equals." The Maple Leaf flag, which Mr. Pearson labored so hard to create, was flying at half- staff throughout the city, as his body was taken from Parliament Hill for the last time. "compounded of devotion antrintelligence, of persistence and sensitivity, of humor and courage, of vision and practicality, Lester Pearson was a great man." . u, _ Mrs. Pearson, their son Geoffrey, their daughter Patricia, and their spouses and children, sat stoicly in the big arched Cathe- dral as about 1,200 people joined them there, and in a nearby hall. . Eulogy fo Lester Pearson stresses humility/omit/IIs:,:,),,,,,,, Dr. Moore, an old family friend, Bade fare- Well to Mr. Pearson with the text: "The wis- dom of a humble man will lift up his head, and will seat him among the great. were many moist eyes as they paid tribute to the likeable, lisping man who was their prime minister from 1963 to 1968. ll steady beat of military funeral procession sloshed through the 25-member mounted itCMP r coats cov'ering their scar- The United States vice-president radioed his regrets before turning back. In his ab- sence the U.S. government was represented by its ambassador to Canada, Adolph W. Schmidt. Among other friends were Montreal indus- trialist Fraser W. Bruce; physician Peter Burton; Graham Spry. former agent-general for Saskatchewan in Britain; Davidson Duo. ton, former bilingualism commissioner and president of Carleton University, and Ottawa newspaper men Norman Smith and Christo. pher Young, a nephew by marriage. They included British Prime Minister.Ed- ward Heath-ls. Vice-President Spiro Ag- new was unable to land because of bad weather-and a taxi driVer who "knew Mike well." Freezing rain and low clouds prevailed as Mr. Agnew's plane circled the Uplands air. port just before the Pearson funeral. Mr. Pearson's long-time political opponent, John Djefcnhaker, stood before the coffin in prayer. He had flown to Ottawa from Saska- toon and came through a blizzard directly from the airport to the Parliament build. lugs. The sombre dignity of the funeral contrast- td with emotion that had run through the Parliament buildings earlier as dark-suited diplomatis joined long-haired youths, crip- pled war veterans, women with shopping bags, and children carrying skates in a final farewell. Judge John Matheson, a former parliamen- tary secretary to Mr. Pearson, made two trips to the bier, and despite a badlreripp1éd log- a Second World War wound - he walk- ed. With the procession to the church, nearly a Tile away. . Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa came to pay his last respects Saturday. An aide to the premier said he arrived in Ottawa late Fri- day. He departed Ottawa after his visit to the oyaiafalques The crowd was held back to allow him a moment alone. artltqafafalt1qe. Eight of the honorary pallbearers were for- mer colleagues in the external affairs de- partment, including A. E; Ritchie, currently external affairs under-secretary; Jules Leg- er, now under-secretary of state, and diplo- mats or former diplomats Marcel Cadieux, Saul Rae, George Ignatieff, Charles Ritchie, Escott Reid and H. F. Fcaver. King Gordon, long-time public servant in United Nations agencies, was in the group. Senators who have been prominent organ- izers and fund-raisers for the national Liber- al party were among the honorary pallbear- ers, including senators John Aird and Keith Davey of Toronto and John Nichol of Van. couver. Among former cabinet colleagues were one-time finance minister Douglas Abbott, now a justice of the Supreme Court of Cana. da, and Jean Lesage, who was Mr. Pearson's parliamentary secretary in 1951-52, later na- tional resources minister and then Quebec premier. Mr. Trudeau was among 13 honorary pallbearers. They included External Affairs Minister Mitchell Sharp; Allan MacEachen, government leader in the Com., mons; Charles M. Drury, president of the treasury board, and Senator Paul Martin, government leader of the Upper House. Leading the honorary pallbearers, in black overcoat and bowler hat, was Prime Minis- ter Trudeau. who entered federal politics in 1965 at Mr. Pearson‘s invitation. Members of the family followed in closed cars. A military Guard of Honor, which had earlier stood opposite the black-creped Peace Tower, followed the cars, along with those former cabinet colleagues of Mr. Pearson, who chose to walk with the procession. Merit from the Queen and Fiizt World War campaign medals. As for his greatness, it had been recog- nized through the offices entrusted to, him and the tributes paid to him and "nothing that can he said can add to the greatness of this man." About his wisdom: "His friends drew upon it in a companionship that was warm and re- warding. lIis students tapped it as they shared his disciplined and well furnished mind. His colleagues leaned upon it as they carried with him the responsibilities of a common task. His fellow citizens trusted it as they laid upon him the duties of leader-- ship . . . the peoples of the world found hope in it . . .” About his humility: "Lester Pearson was a humble man because he was open to others and to situations. There was no aggressive imposition of self . . . he saw his life as a trusteeship and not his own to be grasped selfishly . . . humility with him was not a garb to be put on but belonged to his inner being and his understanding of himself." A lone piper played a lament as Mr., Pear- son's body was placed in the hearse for the 30 mile trip lo Wakefield, Que., where he had selected a secluded burial plot with two friends 30 years ago. The two friends, Hume Wrong and Norman Robertson, are already there. At the conclusion of the private burial cere- mony, the Canadian flag which draped the coffin throughout the Iying-in-state and fu- neral, was folded by two RCMP officers and presented to Mrs. Pearson. The coffin, guarded by the RCMP, military and parliamentary police,, was not to be touched by the passing crowd. But one wom- an ran up and kissed it before she could be stopped. " . . . he may have had opponents, but few enemies," Dr. Moore was to say later. The ecumenical service involved Very Rev. T. E. Downey, Anglican Dean of Otta- wa; Dr. J. A. Davidson, minister of Domin.. ion-Chalmers United Church, Ottawa; Most Rev. Joseph Plourdc, Roman Catholic Arch- bishop of Ottawa, and Rt. Rev. W. J. Robin. son, Anglican Bishop of Ottawa. He paused a few minutes, eyes on the bier, and then left. An aide. said the premier was returning immediately to Quebec City due Ct) previous engagements. Those who filed by the coffin, at an aver- age rate of almost 900 an hour, included many political opponents, as well as political friends. Not far down the stone chrridors from the Hall of Honor, Mr. Pearson had spent many heated hours in the Commons chamber, as he pushed through controversial legislation on the new flag, pensions, the na- tional medical care scheme, and other mea- sures. t It was by special request of the family that Dr. Moore, an old friend from University of Toronto days, delivered the address. And he devoted his address largely to Mr. Pearson's wisdom, humility and greatness. ttii-d MC‘JDAV