George H.W. Bush is laid to rest
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.”