From MSNBC:

Coretta Scott King dead at 78

Widow of civil rights leader suffered heart attack in August

NBC, MSNBC and news services

Updated: 8:11 a.m. ET Jan. 31, 2006

ATLANTA - Coretta Scott King, who turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died, former mayor Andrew Young told NBC Tuesday morning. She was 78.

Young, who was a former civil rights activist and was close to the King family, broke the news during a phone call he made to the NBC "Today" show.

Asked how he found out about her death, Young said, "I understand she was asleep last night and her daughter tried to wake her up."

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King had been recovering at home since suffering a stroke and heart attack in August.

She was last seen in public when she made a surprise appearance at a fundraiser on what would have been her husband's 77th birthday earlier this month.

She smiled from her wheelchair as she was greeted with a standing ovation and thunderous applause from a crowd of 15-hundred at the Salute to Greatness Dinner at the King Center.

Coretta King was a supportive lieutenant to her husband during the most tumultuous days of the American civil rights movement.

The Kings were married in 1953 and had four children, Martin Luther III, Yolanda, Dexter and Bernice. After her husband’s assassination in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968, King kept his dream alive by starting the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, based in Atlanta.

NBC News' Javier Morgado and Mark Jafar, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report

I woke up to this news this morning.

May she rest in peace

OMG, thats terrible!

RIP, you will be missed!!

I woke up to this news this morning.

May she rest in peace

rest in peace

There are no words. When I scrolled over this topic, I just sat back in my chair, mouth agape. There are no words to describe this. May she find peace.