MONTGOMERY, Ala. --- Johnnie Carr had three children but the number of people who knew her as "Mama" is too many to count, said those who remembered the civil rights icon at her funeral Saturday.

Mrs. Carr, a childhood friend of Rosa Parks, helped organize the historic Montgomery bus boycott, which led to the start of the Civil Rights Movement. The 97-year-old died Feb. 22 after suffering a stroke.

"Dr. Carr was 'Mama Carr' to me and the family understands that," state Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery, said. "She would spank me from time to time. My mother and father needed help with me and she gave that assistance."

Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright also remembered Mrs. Carr as a nurturing mother figure whose small size belied her firm dedication and fierce determination.

"Thank you, thank you for sharing her with us," Mr. Bright said to Mrs. Carr's family, adding he was honored that Mrs. Carr nicknamed him "her mayor."

Hundreds attended the funeral service on the campus of Alabama State University, where Mrs. Carr had received an honorary doctorate.

The service included tributes from President Bush, who called Mrs. Carr "a true patriot and staunch advocate for civil rights" and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who proclaimed "long live the legacy of Mrs. Johnnie Carr and her works."

Local and state officials were also among those in attendance, along with Oscar-nominated actress Cicely Tyson, who starred in The Rosa Parks Story in 2002.

"I say heaven belongs to you, Johnnie Carr," Ms. Tyson said after reciting a poem in her friend's honor. "Heaven belongs to you."

A grandmotherly figure who was ever-present at community events, Mrs. Carr was known for arms that were always open and ready to hug, wise eyes that twinkled and lips that adversity couldn't keep from turning up into frequent, soft, smiles.

The small-statured Mrs. Carr became president of the Montgomery Improvement Association in 1967, and it was a post that she held until her death.

Her presidency succeeded that of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was named the original leader of the group. It was formed after the boycott of city buses began in 1955 in protest of Mrs. Parks' arrest for refusing to relinquish her seat to a white man on a crowded bus.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down racial segregation on public transportation a year later.

Mrs. Carr and her husband of 61 years, Arlam Carr Sr., registered hundreds of Montgomery voters and the couple helped desegregate Montgomery schools with a 1964 lawsuit on behalf of their son, Arlam Jr.

They also worked to desegregate the city's parks. The senior Mr. Carr died in 1995 at age 95.