SAN ANTONIO – Former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros said Thursday that he will deliver the eulogy at a memorial service for former San Antonio Mayor Lila Cockrell, who died Thursday.
Related: Flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of former Mayor Lila Cockrell
"It'll be a very difficult eulogy for me," Cisneros said. "I've had the honor of delivering many eulogies as citizens of our city passed and family members. But next to my parents, my mom and dad, this woman touched me deeply more than anybody else I can think of. And my own feelings towards San Antonio or as a member of my family and Lila Cockrell is inseparable from that."
Details of Cockrell's memorial services haven't been announced.
READ MORE: Lila Cockrell, first woman to serve as San Antonio mayor, dies at 97
Cockrell was the first woman to serve as mayor of the Alamo City, serving from 1975 to 1981 and 1989 to 1991. Cisneros served as mayor in between Cockrell's two stints.
Cisneros said that Cockrell was a mentor to him and he will remember her for many things.
Watch an extended interview with Henry Cisneros below.
"But I think the biggest legacy of Lila was the effort to create peace out of a time of tumult. San Antonio was in major fighting mode over the aquifer, over single member districts, on her watch. And she managed to make lemonade out of lemons, and we came out of that era much, much better. We figured out how to respect each other, how to make room for everyone in the public dialogue. She had like old world values related to her service in World War II. Courtesy, dignity, ladylike demeanor, manners."
RELATED: Tributes pour in for former San Antonio Mayor Lila Cockrell