12,000 Houstonians Bid Farewell To President George H.W. Bush

HOUSTON, TX — The public visitation for President George H.W. Bush, who died Nov. 30 at the age of 94, ended at 5:30 a.m. Thursday. The visitation opened at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday with the first wave of mourners arriving at about 5:30 p.m.

Officials estimate that as many as 12,000 mourners filed through St. Martin’s Episcopal Church to pay their respects to Bush.

The funeral for the man known in the Bayou City as “Houston’s President” begins at 10 a.m. and will be a private service for family and close friends.

His casket will leave the church shortly before noon and will be transported to Spring to be loaded on the Bush 4141 train.

The final journey for Bush will wind 70 miles through several Texas communities en route to College Station, where he will be laid to rest next to his wife, Barbara, who died in April.

Residents in communities along the funeral route are expected to begin lining up at about 10 a.m. to pay their final respects.

The official state funeral for Bush was held Dec. 5 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., with former presidents and dignitaries attending the service.

His body was flown to Houston afterward.

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