Credit: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
HOUSTON (AP) – A family spokesman says former President George H.W. Bush decided at the last minute to greet mourners paying their respects to his wife, Barbara.
Jim McGrath tells The Associated Press that Bush was watching live video from the Houston church where his wife’s casket had arrived early Friday. Hundreds of people had lined up early for a public viewing that started at noon.
McGrath says the former president was “very touched” by the images he saw. McGrath says Bush told his staff that he wanted to go to the church himself . McGrath says, “It was entirely the president’s idea to go there.”
Bush was at the church for about 15 minutes, shaking hands with dozens of people from his wheelchair, near his wife’s casket. The couple were married for 73 years before Barbara Bush died on Tuesday at age 92.
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