PHOENIX — The late Sen. John McCain's wife, Cindy, walked up to the flag-draped casket holding her husband's body Wednesday at the Arizona Capitol and patted it, then leaned over and kissed it.

The rest of his children then filed past the casket and touched it, including his sons in uniform and daughter Meghan McCain, who was weeping.

The private service at the Arizona Capitol marked the first appearance of McCain's family members since the senator died Saturday of brain cancer.

During the service, Gov. Doug Ducey remembered McCain as a senator and internationally known figure as well as a major figure in the history of Arizona.

While Barry Goldwater was an Arizona native, McCain was "Arizona's favorite adopted son," the governor said on would have been the 82nd birthday of McCain, who was born in the Panama Canal zone while his father served in the military.

"Imagining an Arizona without John McCain is like picturing Arizona without the Grand Canyon," Ducey said.