Elizabeth Edwards Funeral: Protests, Wade & Cate Edwards, Eulogy

Elizabeth Edwards' funeral service will be held today at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, NC, amid funeral protests by the Westboro Baptist Church. Edwards Edwards, who died from breast cancer, will be interred next to her late son, Wade Edwards.  Among the invited guests to speak at the funeral services is Cate Edwards, the oldest child of the late political wife.

Elizabeth Edwards' Funeral:  Final Wish to Be Buried Next to Son

In 1996, long before she was diagnosed with breast cancer, her son Wade Ewards, 16 at the time, was involved in a vehicle crash that claimed his life.  The news of the loss of her son was enough to crush her entire world.  She left her successful practice of law to mourn the loss of her son.  In many ways, she has never reconciled the loss of her son.

One of her final wishes included being buried next to her late son.  The manager of Raleigh's Historic Oakwood Cemetery confirmed that Elizabeth Edwards, based on the family arrangements, will be buried next to her son, who is already interred there.

Elizabeth Edwards' Funeral:  Protests From Westboro Baptist Church

Pastor Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church, based on the picket schedule, will be present to protest the funeral services of the late Elizabeth Edwards.  The radical hate group that doubles as a Christian group, is known to show up at the funerals of fallen soldiers to spread its anti-gay and lesbian messages of damnation.

However, the group says it will protest the life and choices Elizabeth Edwards made before she died, and how she repeatedly turned away from God in disobedience. Phelps says his group will picket at a "respectable distance".

Elizabeth Edwards Funeral:  Cate Edwards' Eulogy for Her Mom

Cate Edwards, 28, a law clerk in Washington D.C. is the eldest of the children.  She is now looked on as the person who must now keep the family's values intact.  She and Elizabeth were very close and shared many moments together as a mother does who passes the torch on to her posterity.  The one thing that is clear about Elizabeth Edwards is her devotion to her children and how she taught them the importance of family despite the fallout.

Cate Edwards shared this with People on what she learned from her mom:

"There are the things she taught without words," Cate writes about her mother in a bonus essay for PEOPLE. Like, "how to continue to live your life on your own terms when it somehow becomes savaged by people you never invited into it."

In all probability, she will touch on the private moments she and her mother shared and the wisdom imparted on her by Elizabeth Edwards before she died.

Elizabeth Edwards' funeral begins at 1p.m. Dec. 11, 2010 and will be aired on local television stations.