Thousands waited in line at the U.S. Capitol Building Rotunda on Monday night to mourn PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush, whodiedat age 94 on Friday. The 41st president of the United States is lying in state through Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. EST.
He is only the 12th U.S. president to be laid in state in the Capitol building.
The Rotunda opened to the public on Monday evening, after his family and former colleagues gathered for abicameral arrival ceremonyearlier in the day.
Hours after the emotional ceremony, it was announced that PresidentDonald Trumpand First LadyMelania Trumpwould pay their respects at the Rotunda.
People pay respects as the remains of former US President George H. W. Bush lie in state in the US Capitol’s rotunda.BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty
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On Monday, Bush family pastor Rev. Dr. Russell Levenson told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that Bush’s death was “as gentle a passing as I think you could ever expect anyone to have,” adding that “he was so much at peace and so ready … he acknowledged and believed God was ready to receive him.”
Before Bush’s body arrived at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews on Monday, students, staff and visitors flocked to his presidential library at Texas A&M University on Sunday. Thousands of mourners paid their respects at a candlelight vigil and flower memorials in front of the school’s library and a park in downtown Houston.
George H. W. Bush.Pam Francis/Getty
Bush’s body will then be taken back to Houston, Texas, where he will ultimately be buried in a family plot on Thursday.
source: people.com
