A funeral service has begun for President George H.W. Bush in his home state of Texas

HOUSTON (AP) — A funeral service has begun for President George H.W. Bush in his home state of Texas .</s>President George H.W. Bush was buried on Thursday next to his wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush, at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas. The elder President Bush died on Friday night at the age of 94 due to Parkinson's disease.

He occupied the White House from 1989-1993, only to have his son George W. Bush move in a few years later in 2001 as the 43rd president.

Bush's body arrived back in Texas Wednesday night after landing in Washington, D.C. on Monday. His casket lain in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda starting on Tuesday where many people paid their respects to the 41st president, including his former service dog, Sully. The golden Labrador pulled at the nation's heartstrings when he was photographed in front of Bush's casket in Texas and at the Rotunda.

On Wednesday, five U.S. Presidents and a number of vice presidents attended the funeral service at the National Cathedral in D.C., including President Donald Trump. George W. Bush, Bush's oldest son, gave a moving eulogy that brought him to tears at the end.</s>Former President George H.W. Bush's casket has arrived for burial on the grounds of his presidential library

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush's casket has arrived for burial on the grounds of his presidential library .</s>Former US president George HW Bush's family has taken centre stage at his funeral at a Houston church, with grandsons who knew him as "Gampy" serving as honorary pallbearers and granddaughters reading from the Bible.

Bush, the 41st US president, died last week in Texas at age 94.

His remains were flown to Texas on Wednesday evening after a state funeral at Washington's National Cathedral which was attended by US President Donald Trump, the four living former US presidents, and foreign leaders.

Thursday's service began at St Martin's Episcopal Church, where Bush worshipped for more than 50 years, with more than 1000 attendees singing America the Beautiful.

Bush's flag-draped casket was carried in soon after.

George P Bush, son of former Florida governor Jeb Bush and one of the former president's 17 grandchildren, reminisced about fly fishing and sharing Blue Bell Creameries ice cream, a well-known Texas brand, as a child with the man he called "Gampy".

James Baker, who served as Bush's secretary of state and was a longtime friend, eulogised the former president as a peacemaker and "a truly beautiful human being".

"He was not considered a skilled speaker, but his deeds were quite eloquent and he demonstrated their eloquence by carving them into the hard granite of history," Baker said, his voice cracking at moments.

Mourners laughed as Baker recalled how Bush would let him know a conversation was over: "'Baker, if you're so smart, why am I president and you're not?'"

Country music star Reba McEntire was among the musical performers at the service.

Following the funeral at St Martin's, a train was to carry Bush's remains about 130km northwest to College Station, Texas, where he will be laid to rest at his presidential library.

The train is a Union Pacific Corp locomotive, numbered 4141 and bearing the name George Bush 41 on the side; it has been in service since 2005.

Bush, who narrowly escaped death as a naval aviator after he was shot down by Japanese forces over the Pacific Ocean in World War II, will be buried with military honours, including a flyover by 21 aircraft from the US Navy.

Bush was president from 1989 to 1993, navigating the collapse of the Soviet Union and expelling former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's forces from oil-rich Kuwait.

He supported the passage of the American with Disabilities Act, a major civil rights law protecting disabled people from discrimination.

A patrician figure, Bush was voted out of office in part for failing to connect with ordinary Americans during an economic recession.</s>HOUSTON — A week of national mourning for "41" concludes Thursday with an invitation-only funeral at former President George H.W. Bush's beloved local church and a private burial service at his presidential library 100 miles northwest of here in College Station.

Eulogies at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church will be delivered by his son, former President George W. Bush, his best friend and former secretary of state, James Baker III, and his grandson and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

Then the casket will be loaded onto the Union Pacific Railroad's Presidential Train Car, traveling through Texas cities such as Spring, Magnolia and Navasota to College Station and the campus of Texas A&M University. His final resting place will be on the grounds of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum alongside his wife and their daughter, Robin, who died from leukemia short of her 4th birthday.

More than 10,000 mourners paid their respects to Bush overnight after his body arrived at the church Wednesday from Washington. The service at Washington National Cathedral drew President Donald Trump and all the living former presidents – Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

Mourners at the Houston funeral ranged from luminary to ordinary. Fawaz “Fuzzy” Hajjar, said he has been serving pizza to the Bushes for 25 years at Fuzzy’s Pizza & Café in West Houston. Bush was a frequent diner at the cafe and often brought VIPs to the small, family-run establishment, from former presidential candidate Mitt Romney to the owners of the Houston Astros and Houston Texans pro sports teams.

Hajjar, in turn, named a pizza after him – the “President Bush Pizza” – that comes covered in pepperoni, Canadian bacon, green peppers, onions, black olives, Italian sausage and artichoke hearts.

More: The loss that forever changed former President George H.W. Bush

More: The Presidential Train Car that will transport George H.W. Bush

“He’s like for us my friend, my father, my brother. He’s everything for us,” said Hajjar, a native of Syria. “He’s just an amazing man.”

Bill White, the mayor of Houston from 2004 to 2010, called Bush a “proud Houstonian and civic leader.” Bush, who died Friday at age 94, was a fixture at civic and sporting events in his post-presidential years, White said.

But the memory that stands out came when the Democrat ran for mayor.

“He told me he was voting for me because I was good for the city,” said White, who worked for the Clinton campaign in 1992. “He didn’t hold grudges.”

John De La Garza Jr., who worked on Bush’s congressional staff in 1966 and 1967, wore a red tie decorated with military-style bombers and Mr. Rogers socks in honor of the former president. De la Garza his wife Dorothy said Bush and wife Barbara, who died in April, were like parents and served as a “model couple” to the then-newlyweds.

They comforted Dorothy after she had a stillbirth.

"They showed us how to live and how to die," she said.

Karen Liedtke, 70, and her sister Kristy Liedtke, 67, said their parents were good friends and business partners with the Bushes.

“All those years of friendship, you want to be able to say goodbye,” Karen Liedtke said. “He was the greatest of the greatest generation.”

More: Bush was the 'center of our family,' granddaughter Barbara Bush says

More: Bush and Trump: The contrast that went unspoken but was impossible to miss at the funeral

Bush's body entered St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to the sounds of the U.S. Air Force Band of the West. A parade of emergency vehicles with red and blue lights flashing led the body from Ellington Field to the sprawling red brick church.

St. Martin's, founded in 1952, is now the largest Episcopal church in North America with some 9,000 members. It was also the site of Barbara Bush's funeral in April.

The church towers overs Houston's upscale Tanglewood neighborhood west of downtown. A message on the website of the 66-year-old church reads: "President George H.W. Bush and the late Mrs. Barbara Pierce Bush worshiped at St. Martin’s for more than 50 years, and now it is our turn to show our respect and support as our congregation, as well as our nation, grieve this loss."</s>The military plane carrying former President George H.W. Bush's casket and members of his family landed in Texas just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday as the events commemorating his life and legacy continue.

Bush's remains will be transported to St. Martin's Episcopal Church for the next phase of the ceremony, which will include a second funeral service Thursday in the state where he launched his political career.

During that service, Bush's grandson, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, and former Secretary of State James Baker will eulogize the former president.

Following that ceremony, Bush's remains will be transported by funeral train to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The former president will then be laid to rest on the grounds of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, near his wife, Barbara, and their daughter Robin, who died of leukemia in 1953 at age 3.</s>HOUSTON: Former US President George HW Bush will be mourned on Thursday (Dec 7) at the Houston church where he worshipped for many years, a final public farewell before his remains are taken by train to their resting place at his Texas presidential library.

The remains of Bush, who died last week in Texas at the age of 94, were flown to Texas on Wednesday evening following a formal state funeral where the World War Two veteran-turned-politician was hailed as a warrior-statesman of uncommon personal kindness.

Amid an unusual bipartisan spirit at the service at Washington's National Cathedral, both Republican and Democratic politicians honoured a president who called for a "kinder, gentler" nation.

"George HW Bush was America's last great soldier-statesman," presidential biographer Jon Meacham said in a eulogy. "He stood in the breach in the Cold War against totalitarianism. He stood in the breach in Washington against unthinking partisanship."

Bush's remains were accompanied by members of his family, and were taken by motorcade to St Martin's Episcopal Church.

The Houston church remained open through the night for mourners, who began lining up on Wednesday morning, to pay their final respects.

Following the funeral at St Martin's, where Bush and his late wife, Barbara Bush, were long-time worshippers, a train will carry his remains about 100 miles (160 km) northwest to College Station, Texas, where he will be laid to rest at his presidential library.

Bush, the 41st US president, occupied the White House from 1989 to 1993, navigating the collapse of the Soviet Union and expelling former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's forces from oil-rich Kuwait.

A patrician figure, Bush was voted out of office in part for failing to connect with ordinary Americans during an economic recession.

However, he has been remembered as representing an earlier era of civility in American politics, an image burnished in recent years by the divisiveness and anger in the United States that accompanied the rise of President Donald Trump.

Bush, who also served as vice president to Ronald Reagan, did not endorse Trump in the 2016 presidential election. He sent him a letter in January 2017 saying he would not be able to attend his inauguration because of health concerns but wished Trump the best.</s>Preparations are underway in College Station, where President George H.W. Bush will be laid to rest.Crews have been busy putting up barriers, tents, and stages in the area where Bush and his family will arrive at 3:45 p.m. ThursdayThe public is invited to view thelocomotive carrying President Bush and his family as it nears campus from Wellborn Road.The train is expect to pass between 3:30 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. on Thursday. Those who wish to view are asked to be in place by 2:30 p.m.The designated area to view the train's arrival will be Lot 62 on Wellborn Road.Wellborn Road will be shut down on Thursday from George Bush Drive to University, as the departure from the train and the procession to the presidential library will be private.The George Bush Library and Museum will be closed until Friday, Dec. 7.</s>Want to watch Fox 4’s newscast? Click here.

HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush will be honored at a second memorial service in Houston at the Bushes’ family church Thursday morning.

Bush’s grandson, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, and former Secretary of State James Baker, a man who has been by Bush’s side since the former president’s failed 1970 Senate campaign in Texas, will both deliver eulogies at the funeral.

Before the service, Bush lay in repose at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church from Wednesday night until Thursday morning.

Houston has been the Bushes home for years since he left the presidency, and they have worshipped at the church for decades. The church was also the funeral site for his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush, earlier this year.

Thursday’s funeral service in Houston follows the memorial service Wednesday in Washington, DC, attended by the former presidents and first ladies, family, friends and other dignitaries.

The 41st President was honored at the Washington National Cathedral and eulogized by his son, former President George W. Bush, who remembered him as the “best father a son or daughter could have.”

Thousands paid their respects to Bush as he laid in state in the US Capitol Rotunda on Monday and Tuesday.

Following the Houston funeral service, Bush will be taken by motorcade procession to the Union Pacific Railroad Westfield Auto Facility.

There will be a departure ceremony before Bush takes his last trip by train to his final resting place. The funeral train will depart on a 70-mile route, taking Bush from Spring, Texas, to Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas, the site of the Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

He will be laid to rest on the museum’s grounds, alongside his wife Barbara and their daughter Robin, who died of leukemia as a child.</s>George H.W. Bush, president and servant-statesman, is laid to rest

UNITED STATES: Former US president George H.W. Bush, remembered as much for his legacy of service as his impact on history, was buried Thursday, capping days of tribute from a nation that briefly set aside political divisions to honor him.

After a state funeral Wednesday in Washington that was attended by the country´s five living presidents and foreign dignitaries, Bush´s flag-draped casket was flown to Texas for a final farewell.

A compassionate national spotlight had shone on Bush´s passing and the memorial proceedings throughout this week.

But his burial at Bush´s presidential library center in College Station, Texas -- alongside Barbara, his wife of 73 years, and their daughter Robin who died of leukemia at age 3 -- was a private family service.

"The 41st President of the United States of America, George Herbert Walker Bush, has reached his final resting place," family spokesman Jim McGrath posted on Twitter.

Bush, who died Friday at age 94, lay in repose at St Martin´s Episcopal Church in Houston, where he was eulogized at a final memorial service by close friend James Baker, who served as his secretary of state.

"His incredible service to our nation and the world are already etched in the marble of time," Baker said, highlighting the sense of duty, service, and personal grace that drove Bush.

Fighting through tears, the 88-year-old Baker recalled how Bush´s deeds "expressed his moral character, and they reflected his decency, his boundless kindness and consideration of others, his determination always to do the right thing."

Son George W. Bush, the nation´s 43rd president, appeared somber at his wife Laura´s side, and stood ramrod straight as military pallbearers carried the casket from the Houston church to a waiting hearse.

It was then placed on a train -- with a locomotive painted in the colors and pattern of Air Force One, the presidential jet -- for the final journey to the presidential library, part of a precise series of ritualized events.

There were emotional displays along the route in towns like Spring, Magnolia, Navasota and College Station.

Crowds of people braved rainy weather to mass beside the tracks, where they held American flags, saluted, cheered and waved goodbye as the train rolled slowly past.

Bush was the 12th president to lie in state in the US Capitol rotunda.

Thousands paid respects there to a statesman who steered the nation through turbulent times including the end of the Cold War and the marshalling of an international coalition to oust invading Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

On Thursday, Baker pointed to Bush´s eagerness to forge compromise and peace rather than rattle sabers.

"He had the courage of a warrior," Baker said. "But when the time came for prudence, he always maintained the greater courage of a peacemaker."

Bush was a decorated World War II aviator who nearly died when he was shot down on a bombing mission.

He served as a congressman, envoy to China and to the United Nations, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and vice president to Ronald Reagan before winning the White House.

At Wednesday´s service in Washington, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania shared a front row pew in the National Cathedral with past presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and their wives, to honor Bush.

Son George delivered an emotional eulogy in tribute to his father. The pair are only the second father-son presidential duo in American history, after John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

Since Bush´s death, Trump has traded his usual provocative posture for one of solemnity and respect for the Bushes, with whom he has often clashed since his meteoric rise in the world of politics.

As Trump toned down the rhetoric this week, Washington´s political heat was reduced from a normal boil to a simmer.

But at Wednesday´s service, tensions were obvious.

Trump arrived and shook hands with the Obamas, but his body language turned cold as he failed to acknowledge Hillary Clinton, his defeated Democratic rival in 2016, or her president husband Bill.
Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush is laid to rest at his Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.