Cindy McCain thanks officials for tribute help

Cindy McCain returned the Arizona Capitol on Wednesday after burying her husband of 38 years to thank officials for the meticulous planning of the late Sen. John McCain’s memorial service.

The six-term senator died Aug. 25 following a 13-month battle with brain cancer. During a daylong service at the state Capitol in Phoenix, the former prisoner of war lay in state in the rotunda on what would have been his 82nd birthday.

His casket, draped in an American flag, was placed on top of the state seal and just beneath tiles spelling out the state motto, “Ditat Deus,” meaning “God enriches.” An estimated 15,000 people passed by his casket to pay their respects.

The first was his wife, Cindy McCain, who returned this week from services in Washington, D.C., and at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland, where McCain was laid to rest.

At that Arizona Capitol service, she appeared close to tears as she stepped up the casket, laid her cheek against it and kissed it.

On her return to Arizona, she stopped by Gov. Doug Ducey’s office early Wednesday morning to thank him and his administration for their help organizing the massive event, a gubernatorial aide told The Arizona Republic.

Her visit to the governor’s floor came a day after Ducey named her husband’s successor, Jon Kyl, to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.

Dressed in black, she took a photo with Ducey and the staff, who thanked her for letting them play a role in the service and conveyed their support for her and the McCain family.