Ivana Trump's Funeral Is Held On Upper East Side

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Mourners gathered on the Upper East Side Wednesday afternoon for the funeral of Ivana Trump, the socialite and ex-wife of former President Donald Trump, following her death last week.

Ivana Trump's gold casket was carried into St. Vincent Ferrer Church — a Roman Catholic institution on Lexington Avenue and East 66th Street — shortly before 2 p.m.

Her children, Eric, Donald, Jr. and Ivanka, trailed behind it. Donald Trump was also in attendance, reportedly arriving through a side entrance with his wife, Melania and son Barron.

Among those standing outside the church in the sweltering heat Wednesday was a Brooklyn resident named Diane, who identified herself as a "Trump supporter."

"Ivana Trump was a wonderful example of how a person can come from a communist country to America and make a resounding success of themselves," she said. "As a woman and a mother, I think she sets a wonderful example to a lot of women."

Trump, 73, was found dead last Thursday inside her home at 10 East 64th St., between Fifth and Madison avenues, police said.

It was later determined that she died from blunt force trauma to the torso following an accident inside the home. Trump had apparently fallen down a staircase, and was found by a maintenance worker who had been called to the scene by her aide and a cleaning lady, the New York Post reported.

Also standing outside the church were Wendy, a fourth-grade teacher in Roscoe, N.Y., and her daughter Jessica, a Columbia University student.

The mother and daughter made the trip down from Jeffersonville in the Hudson Valley because they were inspired by Ivana's personal story — including her upbringing in the Soviet Union, Wendy said.

"Ivana lived the American Dream like us," said Wendy, whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Russia.

In the extreme heat, a photographer passed out from exhaustion outside the church during Wednesday's services, with police officers pulling him out from the crowd.

Wednesday's services were described as a "celebration of life" for Ivana, the Post reported. The event was invitation-only, featuring heavy security protection.

"She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life," Donald Trump wrote in a post announcing Ivana's death on his Truth Social platform last week.

A former competitive skier and model, she was born Ivana Zelnickova in Czechoslovakia. It was while pursuing her modeling career that she met Donald Trump in New York in 1976, marrying him the following year.

After more than a decade as one of the city's top power couples, they divorced in 1992. The glamorous Ivana was otherwise known for launching a clothing line and designing the pink-marble interior of Trump Tower.