Coretta Scott King

Coretta Scott King, widow of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is shown during an interview at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Social Change in Atlanta, Ga., in January 1975. Mrs. King, who turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died. She was 78.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is welcomed with a kiss by his wife, Coretta, after leaving court in Montgomery, Ala., March 22, 1956.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is embraced by his wife, Coretta Scott King, during a news conference at Harlem Hospital in New York, in this Sept. 30, 1958, photo. He was in the hospital recovering from a stab wound following an attack by a woman. At left is his mother, Alberta Williams King.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, sit with three of their four children in their Atlanta, Ga, home, in this March 17, 1963, file photo. From left are: Martin Luther King III, 5, Dexter Scott, 2, and Yolanda Denise, 7.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., left, and his wife, Coretta Scott King, second from left, join pickets during a tour of an Atlanta slum area, in this Feb. 1, 1966, photo. The two women carrying signs were protesting the arrest of Hector Black, a volunteer who was charged with trespassing while handing out blankets at an apartment in the area.

The family of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. walk in the funeral procession of the slain civil rights leader, in Atlanta, April 9, 1968. From left: daughter Yolanda, 12; King's brother A.D. King; daughter Bernice, 5; widow Coretta Scott King; Rev. Ralph Abernathy; sons Dexter, 7, and Martin Luther King III, 10.

Coretta Scott King and her daughter, Bernice, are shown in April 9, 1968, in Atlanta, Ga. attending the funeral of her husband, Martin Luther King Jr.

Coretta Scott King, widow of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is seen at her home in Atlanta, Ga., May 28, 1968.

Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., walks a picket line with others to protest apartheid in South Africa, Nov. 29, 1984, at the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Coretta Scott King, widow of slain civil rights leader, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., chats with former President Jimmy Carter in Atlanta at a "Salute To Greatness" dinner, Jan. 18, 1986.

Then Vice President Al Gore, left, raises the hand of Coretta Scott King, widow of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., after Gore addressed the NAACP 89th National Convention in Atlanta, July 16, 1998.

Coretta Scott King bows her head with her children, the Rev. Bernice King, left, Dexter King, and Martin Luther King III, right, as they pay their respects at the crypt of her husband and their father, slain civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta, Dec. 9, 1999.

Dexter Scott King, youngest son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., gets a hug from his mother, Coretta Scott King, at a news conference, Jan. 14, 1989, in Atlanta where it was announced that he would replace her as president of the King Center as of April 4, 1989.

Coretta Scott King ponders a reporter's question in front of a painting of her late husband, civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Jan. 14, 2003, in Atlanta.

Coretta Scott King, widow of assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., attends commencement exercises at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, May 16, 2004.