By TERRY SPENCER
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday remembered her mother as “a ray of light in the darkest of days” during a funeral service at a church not far from the family’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
The former first lady said she always found peace in the presence of her mother, Amalija Knavs, 78, and that her mother was always there to listen.
“In her presence, the world seemed to shimmer with radiance and joy,” Melania Trump said during a eulogy as her husband, former President Donald Trump, sat nearby. “Our bond was unbreakable.”
The former first lady said her mother celebrated her family’s triumphs and supported them during difficult times. She said she would remember the laughter that accompanied travels with her mother, father and sister and “conversations that flowed effortlessly with grace and charm.”
“Rest in peace my beloved mother,” Melania Trump said before stepping down from the pulpit.
She then stood in front of her mother’s casket, touched her fingers to her lips and placed them on the casket.
Among the guests who arrived before the start of the private service for Knavs at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea were two of Donald Trump’s children from previous marriages, Tiffany Trump and Ivanka Trump; Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner; and Republican U.S. Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
The church is where Trump and his wife were married in 2005. Knavs died Jan. 9 in Miami after an undisclosed illness.
At midmorning, a hearse pulled up in front of the church followed by an SUV carrying the former president and first lady and two other vehicles with their Secret Service detail. Wearing a black dress and sunglasses, Melania Trump and her father, Viktor Knavs, led a procession up to the church, followed by the former president and their son, Barron.
They then waited on the steps of the church as the coffin was lifted from the hearse and…
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