DORCHESTER , Massachusetts ( CNN ) -- Friends , family and colleagues paid tribute to Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy on Friday evening with a three-hour wake capped by a chorus of `` When Irish Eyes Are Smiling . '' Joseph P. Kennedy II recalls how his `` Uncle Teddy '' looked after the family . An estimated 45,000 people filed past the Democratic legend 's flag-draped casket at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library before the event . Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd , who has tried to shepherd Kennedy 's signature cause of universal health care through the Senate this year , summed up his appeal in three words : `` People liked him . '' `` Some people born with a famous name live off of it . Others enrich theirs , '' Dodd said . `` Teddy enriched his . '' Kennedy died Tuesday night at age 77 after being ill with brain cancer for 15 months . He had represented Massachusetts in the Senate since 1962 , leaving his stamp on `` nearly every important law passed in the last half-century , '' Dodd said . He became the patriarch of the first family of Democratic politics after the assassinations of his brothers , President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy , during the 1960s . One of Robert Kennedy 's sons , former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II , fondly recounted how `` Uncle Teddy '' looked after the children of his slain siblings . Watch Vice President Biden explain how Kennedy `` crept into my heart '' » . `` The truth of the matter is that for so many of us , we just needed someone to hang on to , and Teddy was always there to hang on to , '' he said . `` He had such a big heart , and he shared that heart with all of us . '' The wake was held at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in suburban Boston , a building `` that Teddy built and brought to life with his dedication to public service , '' said the slain president 's daughter , Caroline . Kennedy 's own presidential aspirations were hobbled by the controversy around a 1969 auto accident that left a young woman dead and a 1980 primary challenge to then-President Jimmy Carter that ended in defeat . But while the White House eluded his grasp , he played major roles in passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act . `` He constantly renewed my faith and optimism in the possible , '' Vice President Joe Biden said at the memorial . `` I never once saw your father with a defeatist attitude , I never saw him petty . I never saw him act in a small way , and as a consequence he made us all bigger -- both his friends , his allies and his foes . '' Kennedy was an outspoken liberal standard-bearer during a conservative-dominated era from the 1980s to the early 2000s . He died as President Obama , whom Kennedy boosted in the 2008 presidential campaign , is pushing for a wide-ranging overhaul of the U.S. health insurance system , a fight the dying senator called `` the cause of my life '' in a July issue of Newsweek . Kennedy was famous for his close friendships with colleagues across the Senate aisle even as his name was an anathema in Republican campaign materials . Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch said the Kennedy name was `` my very best fundraiser , '' but that he developed `` a strong working relationship with and love for the man I came to fight . '' Watch Hatch tell how he won a big favor from Kennedy » . `` If you would have told me that he would become one of my closest friends in the world I probably would have suggested that you need professional help , '' Hatch said . A visibly emotional Hatch said he last saw Kennedy `` a couple of months ago , '' and the two had their picture taken together . `` That means so much to me , '' Hatch said . `` I had to say it was a wonderful occasion , and I miss fighting in public and joking with him in the background . I miss all the things we knew we could do together . '' Arizona Sen. John McCain , the GOP 's 2008 presidential candidate , said Kennedy `` taught me to be a better senator . '' `` He was the most reliable , the most prepared and the most persistent member of the Senate , '' McCain said . `` He took the long view , and he never gave up . '' McCain added , `` I think most of my colleagues would agree the place wo n't be the same without him . '' The senator 's funeral is scheduled for Saturday at Boston 's Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston 's Mission Hill section , with at least 40 of Kennedy 's fellow senators and former presidents Jimmy Carter , Bill Clinton and George W. Bush slated to attend . Obama , who called Kennedy an `` extraordinary leader '' on Wednesday , will deliver a eulogy at the funeral , according to several sources . Prime Minister Brian Cowen of Ireland , the famous clan 's ancestral homeland , and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown are also expected to attend , a family spokesman said . Kennedy will be buried Saturday evening at Arlington National Cemetery , outside Washington , 95 feet south of the grave of Sen. Robert Kennedy , which is in turn just steps away from John Kennedy 's burial site .
Kennedy : `` He had such a big heart , and he shared that heart with all of us '' Family celebrates senator 's life with `` music , laughter and stories '' Sen. Orrin Hatch sums up Chris Dodd with , `` People liked him '' CNN Sen. Joseph Kennedy says he grew to love `` the man I came to fight ''