WASHINGTON (AP) – The casket carrying the remains of George H.W. Bush has arrived at the U.S. Capitol for the nation to begin its formal farewell to the 41st president.

His remains arrived Monday afternoon at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington aboard an aircraft that often serves as Air Force One. Former President George W. Bush, the eldest of the four Bush sons, and his wife, Laura, along with brother Neil Bush and his family, were aboard the plane for the trip from Houston.

Following a short service Monday afternoon, the president’s remains will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until Wednesday morning.

Bush died Friday in Houston at age 94. An invitation-only funeral service is set for Wednesday at Washington National Cathedral. President Donald Trump is among the dignitaries who plan to attend. </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> WASHINGTON: International dignitaries gathered with US leaders on Wednesday at the funeral service for George H W Bush, a graceful show of unity that allowed Americans to hit pause on the toxic rhetoric that has engulfed Washington and national politics.

 The nation’s 41st president, who died Friday at age 94, laid in state for two days in the US Capitol rotunda, as President Donald Trump exchanged his usual aggressive posture for one of respect and solemnity.

 “Looking forward to being with the Bush family,” he tweeted early on Wednesday, before Bush’s remains were transported from the Capitol to Washington National Cathedral.

 “This is not a funeral, this is a day of celebration for a great man who has led a long and distinguished life. He will be missed!”

 Tens of thousands of Americans quietly filed in to the Capitol to pay their respects to a man who steered the nation through turbulent times including the end of the Cold War — and in a style dramatically different from the bombast and combativeness championed by the current commander-in-chief.

 In a show of respect, Pennsylvania Avenue was lined with well-wishers as a cortege proceeded toward the cathedral in the first presidential funeral since Gerald Ford died in late 2006.

 The country’s five living presidents — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Bush’s son George W Bush, Barack Obama, and Trump — were attending the service at Washington National Cathedral, the Neo-Gothic spiritual centerpoint of the US capital.

 George W Bush and wife Laura stood stoically outside the US Capitol as an honour guard carried his father’s flag-draped casket to the hearse.

 Dignitaries in the cathedral included Britain’s Prince Charles, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan, former Polish president Lech Walesa, former vice presidents Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Joe Biden and former secretaries of state James Baker, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

 International tributes have poured in for Bush, whose political locus was foreign policy and America’s place in the world.

 A telegram from the Vatican relayed Pope Francis’s “heartfelt condolences” to the Bush family.

 Trump’s ascendancy to the head of the Republican Party saw him exchange vitriolic attacks with the Bushes, including mocking Bush senior’s “thousand points of light” phrase and slamming the presidential son’s 2003 invasion of Iraq as “one of the worst decisions in the history of our country.” — AFP </s> George H.W. Bush, who shaped history as America's 41st president and patriarch of a family that occupied the White House for a dozen years, is going to his final rest Thursday in Texas.

More than 11,000 people paid their respects to Bush as his casket lay in repose all night at a Houston church where his family worshipped. Some visitors waited for hours to pay tribute to Bush, who will be buried following a funeral at St. Martin's Episcopal Church.

Thursday's service began with "America the Beautiful" and a robust rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

It attracted local sports stars including Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and was featuring eulogies from Bush's grandson, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, the only member of the famous family still holding elected office, and James Baker, his former secretary of state and a close friend for decades. Hymns being sung were chosen and loved by the former president, said the church's pastor, Rev. Russell J. Levenson Jr.

Performing were some of Bush's favorite country music stars including the Oak Ridge Boys doing "Amazing Grace" and Reba McEntire offering "The Lord's Prayer" as three days of official ceremonies in Washington gave way to more personal touches for the former president in Texas.

The nation's capital bid him goodbye Wednesday in a Washington funeral service that offered high praise for the last of the presidents to have fought in World War II — and a hefty dose of humor about a man whose speaking delivery was once described as a cross between Mister Rogers and John Wayne.

Bush's casket returned for the services in Houston, a ride on a special funeral train and eventual burial at his family plot on the presidential library grounds at Texas A&M University in College Station. His final resting place is alongside Barbara Bush, his wife of 73 years, and Robin Bush, the daughter they lost to leukemia at age 3.

In the service at Washington National Cathedral, three former presidents and President Donald Trump looked on as George W. Bush eulogized his father as "the brightest of a thousand points of light."

The cathedral service was a tribute to a president, a patriarch and a faded political era that prized military service and public responsibility. It was laced with indirect comparisons to Trump but was not consumed by them, as speakers focused on Bush's public life and character — with plenty of cracks about his goofy side, too.

"He was a man of such great humility," said Alan Simpson, former Republican senator from Wyoming. Those who travel "the high road of humility in Washington, D.C.," he added pointedly, "are not bothered by heavy traffic."

Trump sat with his wife, a trio of ex-presidents and their wives, several of them sharp critics of his presidency and one of them, Hillary Clinton, his 2016 Democratic foe. Apart from courteous nods and some handshakes, there was little interaction between Trump and the others.

George W. Bush broke down briefly at the end of his eulogy while invoking the daughter his parents lost in 1953 and his mother, who died in April. He took comfort in knowing "Dad is hugging Robin and holding Mom's hand again."

It was a family that occupied the White House for a dozen years — the 41st president defeated after one term, the 43rd serving two. Jeb Bush stepped up to try to extend that run but fell short when Trump won the 2016 Republican primaries.

The elder Bush was "the last great-soldier statesman," historian Jon Meacham said in his eulogy, "our shield" in dangerous times.

But he also said that Bush, campaigning in a crowd in a department store, once shook hands with a mannequin. Rather than flushing in embarrassment, he simply cracked, "Never know. Gotta ask."

Meacham recounted how comedian Dana Carvey once said the key to doing an impersonation of Bush was "Mister Rogers trying to be John Wayne."

None of those words would be a surprise to Bush. Meacham read his eulogy to him, said Bush spokesman Jim McGrath, and Bush responded to it with the crack: "That's a lot about me, Jon."

The congregation at the cathedral, filled with foreign leaders and diplomats, Americans of high office and others touched by Bush's life, rose for the arrival of the casket, accompanied by clergy of faiths from around the world. In their row together, Trump and former Presidents Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton stood with their spouses and all placed their hands over their hearts.

Simpson regaled the congregation with stories from his years as Bush's friend in Washington. More seriously, he recalled that when he went through a rough patch in the political game, Bush conspicuously stood by him against the advice of aides. "You would have wanted him on your side," he said.

Simpson said Bush "loved a good joke — the richer the better. And he threw his head back and gave that great laugh, but he never, ever could remember a punchline. And I mean never."

George W. Bush turned the humor back on the acerbic ex-senator, saying of the late president: "He placed great value on a good joke, so he chose Simpson to speak."

Meacham praised Bush's call to volunteerism — his "1,000 points of light" — placing it alongside Abraham Lincoln's call to honor "the better angels of our nature" in the American rhetorical canon. Meacham called those lines "companion verses in America's national hymn."

Trump had mocked "1,000 points of light" last summer at a rally, saying "What the hell is that? Has anyone ever figured that one out? And it was put out by a Republican, wasn't it?"

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney praised Bush as a strong world leader who helped oversee the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union and helped bring about the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, signed into law by his successor, Clinton.

With Trump, a bitter NAFTA critic, seated in the front row, Mulroney hailed the "largest and richest free trade area in the history of the world." The three countries have agreed on a revised trade agreement pushed by Trump.

On Wednesday morning, a military band played "Hail to the Chief" as Bush's casket was carried down the steps of the U.S. Capitol, where he had lain in state. Family members looked on as servicemen fired off a cannon salute.

His hearse was then driven in a motorcade to the cathedral ceremony, slowing in front of the White House. Bush's route was lined with people much of the way, bundled in winter hats and taking photos. </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> WASHINGTON -- The nation's capital bids its final farewell to the late President George H.W. Bush in a service of prayer and praise that is drawing together world envoys, Americans of high office and a guy from Maine who used to fix things in Bush's house on the water.

A viewing for the 41st president at the hushed Capitol Rotunda drew to a close on Wednesday morning.

A ceremony at Washington National Cathedral, the nexus of state funerals, will cap three days of remembrance by dignitaries and ordinary citizens as they honored the Republican president who oversaw the post-Cold War transition and led a successful Gulf War, only to lose re-election in a generational shift to Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992.

The four living ex-presidents are coming -- among them, George W. Bush will eulogize his father -- and President Donald Trump will attend but is not scheduled to speak.

Also attending: One king (Jordan), one queen (Jordan), two princes (Britain, Bahrain), Germany's chancellor and Poland's president, among representatives of more than a dozen countries.

Also expected in the invitation-only crowd: Mike Lovejoy, a Kennebunkport, Maine, electrician and fix-it man who has worked at Bush's Maine summer estate since 1990 and says he was shocked and heartened to be asked to come.

FOX31 will provide live coverage of the funeral on-air and online.

On Tuesday, soldiers, citizens in wheelchairs and long lines of others on foot wound through the Capitol Rotunda to view Bush's casket and honor a president whose legacy included World War military service and a landmark law affirming the rights of the disabled.

Former Sen. Bob Dole, a compatriot in war, peace and political struggle, steadied himself out of his wheelchair and saluted his old friend and one-time rival.

After the national funeral service at the cathedral, Bush's remains will be returned to Houston to lie in repose at St. Martin's Episcopal Church before burial Thursday at his family plot on the presidential library grounds at Texas A&M University in College Station.

His final resting place will be alongside Barbara Bush, his wife of 73 years who died in April, and Robin Bush, the daughter they lost to leukemia in 1953 at age 3.

Trump ordered the federal government closed Wednesday for a national day of mourning. Flags on public buildings are flying at half-staff for 30 days.

As at notable moments in his life, Bush brought together Republicans and Democrats in his death, and not only the VIPs.

Members of the public who never voted for the man waited in the same long lines as the rest, attesting that Bush possessed the dignity and grace that deserved to be remembered by their presence on a cold overcast day in the capital.

"I'm just here to pay my respects," said Jane Hernandez, a retired physician in the heavily Democratic city and suburbs. "I wasn't the biggest fan of his presidency, but all in all he was a good, sincere guy doing a really hard job as best he could."

Bush's service dog, Sully, was taken to the viewing, too -- his main service these last months since Barbara Bush's death in April being to rest his head on her husband's lap. Service dogs are trained to do that.

The CIA also honored Bush, the only spy chief to become president, as three agency directors past and present joined the public in the viewing.

In the midst of the period of mourning, first lady Melania Trump gave Laura Bush, one of her predecessors, a tour of holiday decorations at the White House, a "sweet visit during this somber week," as Mrs. Bush's Instagram account put it.

And the Trumps visited members of the Bush family at the Blair House presidential guesthouse, where they are staying.

Former President George W. Bush and his wife greeted the Trumps outside before everyone went in for the private, 20-minute visit.

Although Trump will attend Bush's service, he is not among the eulogists.

They are, in addition to Bush's eldest son, Alan Simpson, the former senator and acerbic wit from Wyoming; Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister who also gave a eulogy for Ronald Reagan; and presidential historian Jon Meacham.

People lined up before dawn to pay respects to the 41st president, a son and father of privilege now celebrated by everyday citizens for his common courtesies and depth of experience.

"He was so qualified, and I think he was just a decent man," said Sharon Terry, touring Washington with friends from an Indianapolis garden club.

Said her friend Sue Miller, also in line for the viewing: "I actually think I underestimated him when he was in office. My opinion of him went up seeing how he conducted himself as a statesman afterward."

Fred Curry, one of the few African-Americans in line, is a registered Democrat from Hyattsville, Maryland, who voted for Bush in 1988, the election won by the one-term president.

"Honestly I just liked him," he said. "He seemed like a sincere and decent man and you couldn't argue with his qualifications."

Inside the Capitol, Sully, the 2-year-old Labrador retriever assigned to Bush, sat by the casket in the company of people who came to commemorate Bush's signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1990 law that, among its many provisions, required businesses that prohibit pets to give access to service dogs.

"After Mrs. Bush's death, general companionship was a big part of Sully's job," John Miller, president and CEO of America's VetDogs, said in a phone interview. "One of the things that I think was important to the president was the rest command, where Sully would rest his head on the president's lap."

The law was just one point of intersection for Bush and Dole, now 95, who was one of its leading advocates in the Senate.

They were fellow World War II veterans, Republican Party leaders, fierce rivals for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination won by Bush ("Stop lying about my record," Dole snapped at Bush) and skilled negotiators.

Dole, an Army veteran hit by German machine gunfire in Italy, has gone through life with a disabled right arm. Bush, a Navy pilot, survived a bail-out from his stricken aircraft over the Pacific and an earlier crash landing.

On Tuesday, Dole was helped out of his wheelchair by an aide, slowly steadied himself and saluted Bush with his left hand, his chin quivering.

Dignitaries had come forward on Monday, too, to honor the Texan whose service to his country extended three quarters of a century, from World War II through his final years as an advocate for volunteerism and relief for people displaced by natural disaster. </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> 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> First of expected 1,200 mourners arrive for George H.W. Bush's Houston funeral

Six days of public mourning for former President George H.W. Bush will come to a close in his adopted home state on Thursday, as an estimated 1,200 mourners will attend his Houston funeral before a private burial service at his presidential library in College Station.

A family-centered funeral at St. Martin's Episcopal Church is scheduled to begin at about 10 a.m., with eulogies expected from grandson and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, as well as former Secretary of State and close friend James A. Baker III. The first mourners began arriving at about 8 a.m., making their way through the sprawling brick church's archway as an American flag flapped against the gray sky.

HOW TO WATCH: Details on how you can watch the Houston funeral online

Following the service, which is expected to last about 75 minutes, the 41st president's body and his family members are scheduled to be escorted to the Union Pacific Auto Facility in Spring for transport by train to College Station. A ceremony featuring about 700 to 800 participants, including Texas A&M leaders and Bush Foundation staff members, will be held upon his arrival at about 3:30 p.m.

Full coverage of George H.W. Bush's death and funeral is at our subscription site, HoustonChronicle.com

By 4:15 p.m., family members are expected to travel to the grave site, where Bush's wife Barbara and daughter Robin are buried, for a private ceremony.

Thursday's expected events follow a day of national mourning primarily in Washington, D.C., where former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and son George W. Bush joined President Donald Trump for a state funeral at the National Cathedral. Bush's namesake son, biographer Jon Meacham and two political allies, former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, each delivered eulogies.

Bush's body was flown to Houston after the funeral to lie in repose throughout the night and following morning at St. Martin's. Hundreds of Houstonians lined up outside the church for his arrival, streaming in after the casket's arrival in the early evening.

Roads near St. Martin's, located about a half-mile west of Loop 610 off Woodway Drive, are expected to remain closed until 1 p.m. Thursday.

Bush, 94, died on Friday following months of declining health as he dealt with a form of Parkinson's disease. His wife, Barbara, died in April. Her funeral also was held at St. Martin's.
The casket for former U.S. President George H. W. Bush arrives at the National Cathedral.