Sawyer bids farewell

Diane Sawyer said an emotional, memory-filled goodbye today on "Good Morning America," as she prepares to succeed Charlie Gibson as anchor of "World News" on Dec. 21.

"I'm going to try to take the advice of that immortal philosopher, Dr. Seuss, who said, 'Don't cry because it happened, smile because it happened,'" Sawyer said at the beginning of the telecast, sitting beside co-anchor Robin Roberts. "And this morning I am beaming at all of you. My heart is smiling. And the privilege of sharing my mornings with all of you has been more than I can say."

The show included many tributes by comedians including Stephen Colbert, as well as by Sawyer's colleagues. Staffers and friends filled the "GMA" audience for the final hour, and a clip had staffers singing one of Sawyer's favorites, "Build Me Up Buttercup." One emotional flourish involved 9/11. After the attacks, Sawyer brought together some 25 babies who'd lost their fathers. The kids showed up on "GMA" today to say goodbye.

In a prerecorded segment, Sawyer revisited some major stories, both in the world and in the world of her "GMA" colleagues. She looked back at everything from Hurricane Katrina to the death of Joel Siegel and Roberts' cancer diagnosis. And then, to the strains of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," she said: "Thousands of days together. Thousands of sleepless mornings. Not to mention all the unslept nights working with people I love, in front of the camera and hundreds off-screen. Working every shift, 24-hours a day, all that passion, serious purpose, exuberance and heart. All I can say is, wherever I am, to all of you at home and here at 'Good Morning America,' there's no mountain high enough to keep me from you."

The sequence ended, and Sawyer, Roberts, Sam Champion, and Chris Cuomo had what Sawyer called "a Mary Tyler Moore moment" as they gathered in a group hug. George Stephanopoulos takes over Sawyer's chair on Monday.

Are you grieving? Celebrating?