Family, friends, and thousands of fans came out to say their final goodbyes to comic legend Bernie Mac at Chicago's House of Hope church on Saturday for his public memorial service. Chris Rock, Jesse Jackson, Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey, and his TV family Kellita Smith, Camille Winbush, Jeremy Suarez, and Dee Dee Davis were among the many mourners.

Bernie's widow, Rhonda who recently opened up to People Magazine, thought he'd get treatment and would be home in a week. But after no signs of improvement, she faced her biggest fear.

"He didn't look good to me and I knew this could be it," she says. Rhonda stood vigil by his bedside. "I said, 'Hey Bernard. How are you?' and I kissed his forehead," she recalls. "He shrugged his shoulders, like 'I'm tired' and I said, 'I know you're tired.' Later on that night, it took a turn for the worse."

Rhonda and the couple's daughter, Je'Niece, 30, were ushered into a waiting room, where they received the grim news. "[The doctor] came in and I said, 'He's gone, isn't he?' and she said 'yes,' " Rhonda recalls.


See more of the memorial service after the jump...

Labels: Bernie Mac