Honoring George Bush: Here Are the Events and the Ceremonies

For the next week, former President George H.W. Bush will be mourned and honored in Texas, where he lived for most of his life and will be buried, and in Washington, where he spent the most formative years of his political career.

Bush will be honored with a state funeral, which traditionally consists of three parts for up to 10 days. The former president was celebrated in Texas, his state of residence, before his coffin was transported to ceremonies in Washington. Bush’s coffin will then be returned to Texas for a final funeral and burial.

President Donald Trump, in a gesture of respect for Bush’s legacy, ordered all flags flown at half-staff for 30 days beginning last Friday, the day Bush died. He also designated Wednesday a national day of mourning, ordering “all executive departments and agencies” to be closed.

Here is how you can pay your respects to the 41st president.

The former president’s coffin arrived in Washington for a ceremony in the Capitol, and Houston will host a celebration of his life.

On Monday morning, the plane completing “Special Air Mission 41” left Houston for Washington, carrying Bush’s coffin and members of his family. The Secret Service members who served with Bush after his presidency served as honorary pallbearers.

Lawmakers hosted a bicameral arrival ceremony for Bush in the Capitol.

Votes were canceled for the week in the House and postponed in the Senate to accommodate the events. The Capitol Rotunda opened for the public to pay respects at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time.

In Houston, the city and its mayor, Sylvester Turner, hosted a ceremony at City Hall. In addition to prayers and performances from friends of Bush, volunteers collected pairs of colorful socks for the Interfaith Ministries’ Meals on Wheels program to give as holiday presents.

Bush will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. He will continue lying in state in the Rotunda for public viewing on Wednesday morning, the 11th president do so.

The Capitol Police will not allow flowers, sealed envelopes or other offerings to be brought into the Rotunda.

An honor guard will remain with the coffin, as members of the public pay their respects until 7 a.m. ET Wednesday. He will remain in the Rotunda until 8:45 a.m.

There will be a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral.

The funeral will begin at 11 a.m. ET. Trump, former presidents and other Washington dignitaries are expected to attend.

The state funeral is invitation only, but is likely to be broadcast live.

Once Bush’s body returns to Houston, it will be taken to St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, where it will lie in repose with an honor guard. Mourners can pay their respects from 6 p.m. Central time Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday.

There will be a funeral at St. Martin’s before Bush is buried.

A second funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Central time.

The funeral is invitation only, but is likely to be broadcast live.

Bush will then be buried on the grounds of his presidential library and museum at Texas A&M University in College Station. He will be laid to rest on a family plot next to Barbara, his wife of 73 years who died in April, and his daughter, Robin, who died at age 3 in 1953.

The funeral procession to the library will be open to the public, but the interment ceremony will be private.

A memorial fund has been established at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M.

Turner, the Houston mayor, has also encouraged residents to wear colorful socks in honor of Bush’s famously colorful collection of socks. The former president will be buried wearing socks that honor his service as a naval aviator.