HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Rep. John Murtha eulogized Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll yesterday as a pioneer in Pennsylvania politics and "a woman of steel but also a woman of compassion."

"She was a transformational figure," full of boundless enthusiasm and energy, said Mr. Murtha, who knew her for 30 years.

Mrs. Knoll, 78, died Nov. 12 after fighting neuroendocrine cancer for several months. A memorial service was held yesterday in the Capitol Rotunda, where her casket will be on display until this afternoon.

Mr. Rendell, who ran and won two elections for governor with Mrs. Knoll, recalled a couple of instances that were controversial but which he said showed Mrs. Knoll's passion and commitment for politics and her concern for Pennsylvanians.

One incident occurred in April just before the hard-fought Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Mrs. Knoll was irked that she wasn't on the list of speakers at a rally in Market Square headed by former President Bill Clinton, who was campaigning for his wife.

"This was Pittsburgh, her hometown, and that didn't sit very well with Catherine," Mr. Rendell said. "So she decided to take things into her own hands. She gave a cross-body block that would have qualified her for the Steelers to a 6-foot-2, 200-pound young man who was blocking the stairs. She got onto the stage and gave a short, pretty sweet rabbit punch to one of the elected officials on the stage and literally grabbed the microphone out of President Clinton's hands."

The governor said Mrs. Knoll "made a 90-second speech about how great Hillary Clinton is and how she'd make a great president. Catherine was enthusiastic, loving, caring and passionate."

Whatever mistakes she may have made, Mr. Rendell said "were always mistakes of the heart." He recalled an incident in the summer of 2005 when "she was roundly criticized for going to a Pennsylvania soldier's funeral [in Carnegie] and handing out her lieutenant governor cards. Anybody who knows Catherine knows she was not handing them out to get votes. She did it because she wanted the family to call her if there was something they needed."

Mrs. Clinton said she was grateful to Mrs. Knoll for her two years of ardent support while the senator was running for president.

"I respected her as a pioneer and a path-breaker" for women in politics, she said. "She shattered glass ceilings and wanted others to do that also."

She recalled marching in the St. Patrick's Day parade this year in Pittsburgh.

"I thought I was working hard, shaking hands and crossing the street to meet people. But Catherine nudged me and said, 'You missed someone. There's a veteran over there you didn't shake hands with.' She knew everybody on the parade route. After that, I was so exhausted."

An eight-man color guard composed of members of the state police, capitol police and Pennsylvania National Guard carried her flag-draped coffin into the rotunda. The service lasted almost an hour.

Both Mr. Rendell and Mrs. Clinton talked about what Mrs. Knoll must be doing in heaven. Mr. Rendell said that since they took office in 2003, she had made many suggestions about what he should be doing in his administration.

"It's been nine days since Catherine passed and my guess is Catherine has been relentless with St. Peter about what he should be doing," said Mr. Rendell.

Mrs. Clinton, looking at Harrisburg Roman Catholic Bishop Kevin Rhoades, quipped "Catherine is organizing heaven and, frankly bishop, encouraging women to have more of a role." There was applause from many of the several hundred state officials and workers present.

"I am very glad to have had her as a friend," Mrs. Clinton said. "She was someone whom Pennsylvania could count on when times were bad."

Speaking about Mrs. Knoll's years as state treasurer, Mr. Rendell praised her for creating the Tuition Account Program which he said "serves as a national model to make college more accessible for students."

He also said that as lieutenant governor, "She always made time for groups of school children. She loved teaching and talking about history. She helped veterans and the National Guard."

He said she had limitless energy on the campaign trail. "Catherine was the energizer bunny."

The people who packed the rotunda came to pay tribute to Pennsylvania's first female lieutenant governor, a native of McKees Rocks.

Mrs. Knoll served two, four-year terms as state treasurer and in May 2002 she defeated eight other candidates, all men, to win a place on the ballot as Mr. Rendell's running mate. They won in the general election and were re-elected in 2006.

Her casket will be on display here through this afternoon, and then will be moved to Pittsburgh. It will be on display from 1 to 5 p.m. tomorrow at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland. A funeral Mass will be celebrated there at noon on Tuesday.