The nation’s five living presidents came together on Thursday to honor former President Jimmy Carter in a pomp-filled funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral, creating a moment of solemn respite from the capital city’s political tensions and whirl of activity in preparation for a new administration.

Mary Elizabeth King was running a group designed to boost the paltry number of women in the top ranks of the federal government. And Joan Claybrook was one of Ralph Nader’s Raiders, the cadre of lawyers and researchers around the country pushing for consumer protections.