Politics & Government

George H.W. Bush To Lie In State At The Capitol And Be Buried In Texas

By Emma Bowman

Published December 1, 2018 at 11:33 PM CST

Flowers sit at the base of a statue of former President George H.W. Bush outside his presidential library and museum on Saturday, in College Station, Texas. Bush will be laid to rest at his family plot near the library on Thursday.

In keeping with presidential tradition, a detailed schedule of the funeral and memorial services for former President George H.W. Bush was released Saturday evening, with ceremonies planned in Houston, Washington, D.C., Spring, Texas, and College Station, Texas. Bush died late Friday at age 94.

In honor of the 41st president, President Trump has declared Wednesday a national day of mourning, the White House said, and issued an executive order to close federal offices. Trump also announced that he'll be sending one of the Boeing 747s that serves as Air Force One to Houston to transport Bush's casket to Washington, D.C.

On Monday, members of both the House and Senate will attend an arrival ceremony held at the U.S. Capitol at 4:45 p.m. ET. Bush will lie in state in the rotunda until Wednesday morning.

Family and friends will then gather at the National Cathedral in Washington for an 11 a.m. funeral service on Wednesday.

Bush will be taken to his home of Houston, where he'll lie in repose at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston from 7:45 p.m. ET Wednesday until 7 a.m. ET Thursday. The church will also hold a second memorial service for the former president at 11 a.m. ET Thursday.

On Thursday afternoon, a motorcade will take Bush's body to Union Pacific Railroad Westfield Auto Facility. From there, a funeral train transports Bush to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, the site of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, where he will be laid to rest.

Bush will be buried next to his wife and former first lady Barbara Bush, who died in April, and his daughter Pauline Robinson "Robin" Bush, who died in 1953 at just 3 years old.

More details about Bush's funeral arrangements are posted on a tribute website for the former president. For those who want to pay their respects, the Bush family requested that donations be made to the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University to "help ensure that President Bush's legacy of public service with integrity is perpetuated."

Corrected: December 1, 2018 at 11:00 PM CST

A previous version of this story said George H.W. Bush would be buried in Houston. In fact, Bush will be buried in College Station, Texas, on the grounds of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.