Dallas / Fort Worth Local News

AUSTIN (CBS 11 NEWS / AP) ― Public officials spanning the past four decades remembered former first lady Lady Bird Johnson on Wednesday as a graceful family woman whose legacy will endure each year through the blooming wildflowers she so loved.

A champion of conservation, the widow of President Lyndon Baines Johnson died Wednesday of natural causes at her Austin home.

Former President George H.W. Bush said he and wife, Barbara, often think of Mrs. Johnson during the spring months, while driving through the Texas countryside.

"That was when her legacy was in its full glory and we would marvel at and enjoy the bluebonnets and other wildflowers that covered the Texas countryside, indeed all of America," Bush said. "She made the world beautiful in so many ways and was beautiful to all of us who knew and loved her."

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry said her work with the National Wildflower Research Center helped make America more beautiful.

"Lady Bird lived by her words when she said that we are obligated to leave the country looking as good if not better than we found it," he said.

"Her beautification programs benefited the entire nation. She translated her love for the land and the environment into a lifetime of achievement," Betty Ford said.

"Had it not been for her, I think that the whole subject of the environment might not have been introduced to the public stage in just the way it was and just the time it was. So she figures mightily, I think, in the history of the country if for no other reason than that alone," Harry Middleton, retired director of the LBJ Library and Museum, once said.

At the news of her passing, many noted her unwavering kindness in the often cutthroat world of politics.

The first President Bush said he became friends with the Johnsons "when Barbara and I arrived in Washington in 1967, and although I was just a junior congressman from Texas -- and on the other side of the political aisle -- she and President Johnson made us feel very welcome."

President George W. Bush said he and wife, Laura, considered Mrs. Johnson "our good friend, and a warm and gracious woman."

"Those who were blessed to know her remember Mrs. Johnson's lively and charming personality, and our nation will always remember her with affection," he said.

Sen. Edward Kennedy remembered Mrs. Johnson as a "wonderful First Lady and one of the kindest and most caring and compassionate people I've ever met in politics.

"She was a great friend to the Kennedy family, in both good times and bad, and we cherished every moment we spent with her," said Kennedy, the brother of President John F. Kennedy, whose death boosted then-Vice President Johnson to the White House.

"Mrs. Johnson became First Lady on a fateful day in November 1963 and was a steady, gentle presence for a mourning nation in the days that followed," President Bush said.

Nancy Reagan said that when Lyndon Johnson was called upon to take the oath of office in the face of tragedy after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, "he did so with his courageous wife beside him." She said Lady Bird Johnson served the nation with honor and dignity.

"I believe above all else that Lady Bird will always be remembered as a loyal and devoted wife, a loving and caring mother and a proud and nurturing grandmother," Reagan said.

Even while living in Washington, D.C., Mrs. Johnson earned her reputation as "a Texas rose."

"While her husband, Lyndon, could be brash, she was benevolent. While he could be tough and hard-charging, she epitomized style and grace. Together, they were a formidable pair," said Democratic Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, who got to know the Johnsons when her husband was a senator.

Former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby called her "the nearest thing to a saint I've ever known."

Many remembered Johnson for her work for civil rights and social progress during the turbulent 1960s.

"Lady Bird Johnson was a beloved First Lady and an American treasure," President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton said in a joint statement. "Every American owes her a debt of gratitude because it was her devotion to the environment that brought us the Beautification Act of 1965 ... and because she supported President Johnson's fights for civil rights and against poverty. Lady Bird was a strong woman who inspired her daughters and other young women to develop and speak their minds."

House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Johnson was one of the nation's first environmentalists, decades ahead of her time.

"She understood that beautifying the nation was about more than simple aesthetics, but also quality of life -- in both urban and rural areas, and for both the rich and the poor," Pelosi said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry ordered flags at half staff in memory of Johnson.

"She inspired generations of Americans with her graceful strength, unwavering commitment to family and keen sense of social justice," Perry said. "Her unflagging efforts to beautify our highways and byways are a lasting legacy, through which our state will forever bear the unmistakable signature of a genuine Texan. We are proud to have known her and, like all Texans, are the better for it."

For most, Lady Bird Johnson was a lively example of southern charm, determination, and modesty.

(CBS 11 News/ AP)