Barbara Bush dies at 92: Past presidents, family and friends bid farewell to America's matriarch
Former US presidents, family and friends bid a tearful farewell to the former first lady Barbara Bush at a private funeral at the nation’s largest Episcopal church and remembered her as the “first lady of the greatest generation.”
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Former US presidents, family and friends on Saturday bid a tearful farewell to the former first lady Barbara Bush at a private funeral at the nation’s largest Episcopal church and remembered her as the “first lady of the greatest generation.” Jenna Bush, left, wipes away tears as granddaughters gather to speak during the funeral service. AP
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The private funeral was held at the St Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston a day after more than 6,000 people paid their respects to the woman, known by many as “America’s matriarch.” Around 1,500 invited guests attended the funeral to honour the life and legacy of Barbara Bush. AP
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Barbara Bush, who died on Tuesday at the age of 92, had requested in her last wishes a modest funeral at the Gothic-style cathedral, where she and her husband, former president George HW Bush, were devoted members for decades. AP
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First lady Melania Trump attended the service “on behalf of the first family,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said in a statement. “To avoid disruptions due to added security, and out of respect for the Bush family and friends attending the service, president Trump will not attend,” the statement said. Reuters
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Barbara was remembered as a woman who represented the best of the World War II generation. “Barbara Bush was the first lady of the greatest generation,” presidential historian Jon Meacham, a friend of the Bush family, said in a eulogy at the service in Texas that drew signatories from across the nation and around the world. AP
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Four of the five living ex-presidents attended the funeral service, including former president Barack Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, as well as former president Bill Clinton and his wife, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. The Clintons’ daughter, Chelsea, was also in attendance. Reuters
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Following the service, Bush’s grandsons carried the casket out of the church. The Bush family then drove by motorcade about 70 miles to the grounds of the George HW Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, where she will be buried. AP
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She will be laid to rest next to her daughter Robin, who died of leukaemia in 1953 when she was three years old. The program for the funeral services with an image of Barbara Bush. Reuters
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