BATON ROUGE, La. -- Friends, family and admirers of Rupert Richardson visited the Old State Capitol on Thursday to pay their respects to the late Louisiana civil rights activist and former president of the national NAACP.

Richardson, a Lake Charles native, died Jan. 24 while moving into a new Baton Rouge home. She was 78.

Her open casket was on display for visitors much of Thursday, flanked by the U.S. and Louisiana flags and under a large blue NAACP insignia.

"Rupert was a leader. She didn't see the world and accept it as it was," Gov. Bobby Jindal told the crowd. "She saw the world and knew it could be better. She didn't expect other people to make it better, she knew she could make it better."

Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco attended an earlier memorial service for Richardson on Thursday.

Richardson chaired the NAACP's National Health Committee, working to reduce HIV/AIDS cases and she started her own health care consulting firm in 1994 after retiring as Louisiana's deputy assistant secretary for alcohol and drug abuse. She also worked at the state level in health planning, mental health, employment and substance abuse.

Jindal said Richardson had "an incredible life, an incredible legacy," with work in health care, anti-addiction campaigns and civil rights.

Richardson received a bachelor's degree from Southern University and master's degrees in counseling and psychology from McNeese State University.

She worked with the Harvard University School of Business on efforts to re-evaluate the civil rights group's mission and strategic plan.

Richardson served as a member of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights, the Louisiana Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the advisory board of the LSU School of Social Welfare and the Governor's Council for Drug Free Schools.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)