Mourners Line Up to See Barbara Bush Lie in Repose in Houston — Many Wearing Pearls in Her Honor
April 20, 2018She was known as America’s grandmother — and many ordinary Americans are lining up to pay their respects.
With many mourners donning pearls in a nod to the former first lady’s signature accessory, Barbara Bush is lying in repose at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston Friday, one day before her invitation-only funeral.
Thousands of members of the public are coming to pay their respects to the late first lady, who died Tuesday at 92 years old, as the doors of the church opened to the public at noon local time, and were to remain open until midnight.
In Houston, many of the women lined up to pay final respects to #BarbaraBush as she lies in repose are wearing pearls, the former first lady’s signature. pic.twitter.com/MrkWohvb1V
— Susan Page (@SusanPage) April 20, 2018
Her casket was brought to the church early Friday morning, and the church is just a few blocks away from the home she lived in with husband of 73 years, President George H.W. Bush, after he lost his reelection bid for president in 1992.
Hearse carrying Barbara Bush's casket arrives at St. Martin’s Church. Public viewing as she lays in repose will be held between noon and midnight. MORE—> https://t.co/rB5PsjjtIu pic.twitter.com/oGEEebTUPx
— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) April 20, 2018
People were already lining up early Friday morning, at the nearby Second Baptist Church to undergo a security screening before being taken to St. Martin’s for the viewing, according to Click2Houston.
David J. Phillip/AP/REX/Shutterstock
The funeral will be attended by numerous notables, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack and Michelle Obama, and the former first lady’s family, including former President George W. Bush, and wife Laura. President Donald Trump will not attend the funeral, in order to “avoid disruptions,” but First Lady Melania Trump will attend as a representative of the White House.
Richard Carson – Pool/Getty
Barbara Bush was widely praised for her sharp wit and devotion to her family, including to her “broken-hearted” husband, who held his dying’s wife hand as she slipped away Tuesday.
But the former president assured the public to “cross the Bushes off your worry list” after her death, noting that “we have faith she is heaven, and we know life will go on — as she would have it.”
Richard Carson – Pool/Getty
Granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager also paid tribute to her formidable “Ganny,” reading an emotional letter to the former first lady on Today Thursday: “You are our family’s rock, the glue that held us together.
“I hope you know in your final days how many people prayed for you,” Bush Hager continued. “How many people told me they loved you. People stopped me everywhere — in airports, on the street — and declared their love for you.”