Barbara Bush Passes Away; Funeral Arrangements Announced as More Tributes Come In
Funeral arrangements for former first lady Barbara Bush, who passed away Tuesday, are now in place.
According to ABC 13, the memorial service will be held at St. Martin's Church, where she and former president George H.W. Bush have been dedicated members.
Today and tomorrow, Thursday, a private visitation will be held at the George Lewis Funeral Home. From noon to midnight on Friday, the public will be given the opportunity to visit and pay their respects. Visitors can take the Houston Metro bus service from Second Baptist Parking Lot to the funeral home.
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Come Saturday, April 21, there will be another private service for a group of 1,500 guests, which will include a number of former presidents and first ladies.
The funeral procession will run from Houston to College Station through Memorial Park. There will be a motorcade that will go north on Westcott, then up Highway 290, Highway 6, into College Station via Texas Avenue.
The procession will turn left on George Bush Drive and then right into the library on Barbara Bush Drive. The burial ceremony will be private, to be attended by close family and friends only.
Bush passed away April 17 after seeing her health deteriorate in the days prior. She reportedly suffered chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.
Last Sunday, April 15, the Bush family spokesman Jim McGrath provided an update on the former first lady's health, saying that she has refused to get additional medical treatment.
"Following a recent series of hospitalizations, and after consulting her family and doctors, Mrs Bush has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care," he stated.
Bush is survived by her five children— her four sons former president George W. Bush, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Neil Bush, and Marvin Bush, and daughter Doro Bush Koch. She had a daughter named Robin who died at the age of three in 1953.
Bush was an advocate for literacy and even established the Barbara Bush Foundation to serve this purpose. While she was the first lady, she made the headlines several times, one time for expressing she wanted nothing to do with politics.
Bush was one of the only two women in American history to be the wife of a U.S. president and give birth to another. The other was Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams.
Shortly after word got out about her death, tributes immediately flooding in — beginning with her renowned sons.
Describing his mother as "a woman unlike any other who brought levity love, and literacy to millions," George W. Bush said, "Our souls are settled because we know hers was."
Jeb Bush, on the other hand, said that he "exceptionally privileged" to be the son of George Bush and "the exceptionally gracious, gregarious, fun, funny, loving, tough, smart, graceful woman who was the force of nature known as Barbara Bush."
In a statement, President Donald Trump said that he and first lady Melania Trump are one with the nation in "celebrating the life of Barbara Bush," who he described as an "advocate of the American family."
Former president Barack and former first lady Michelle Obama also paid tribute to Bush, describing the former first lady as "the rock of a family dedicated to public service."
