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George H.W. Bush remembered as having ‘greater courage of a peacemaker'

By Kelly Healey and The Associated Press

Houston Police officers pay their respects at the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush St. Martin's Episcopal Church Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, in Houston. 

By Kelly Healey and The Associated Press

HOUSTON, Fla. — Funeral services began at a Houston church for George H.W. Bush, the last public remembrance for the former president who will be laid to rest Thursday.
 
About 1,200 mourners were in attendance at St. Martin's Episcopal Church for the service, which included eulogies from Bush's Secretary of State, James Baker, and his grandson, George P. Bush.

Baker remembered his longtime friend George H.W. Bush as having "had the courage of a warrior but the greater courage of a peacemaker" during an emotional eulogy at Bush's funeral in Houston. 

Watch: George W. Bush delivers hearfelt euglogy

Bush was being remembered at his longtime church as a man of faith who taught Sunday School, served coffee and watched his children perform in a Christmas pageant.
The Rev. Russell Levenson, Jr. told mourners Thursday that Bush had a "resolute faith" and once asked what heaven would be like. He told those gathered at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church that he imagined Bush was greeted in heaven by his wife, Barbara Bush, "with her hands on her hips, saying `What took you so long?"'

Special Section: Remembering George H.W. Bush

Levenson said it was OK to cry because George H.W. Bush was never afraid to shed tears himself.

The funeral follows three days of events in Washington honoring the 41st president.

REMEMBERING PRESIDENT BUSH:

After the Houston funeral, a special train painted to resemble Air Force One will carry Bush's casket, family and close friends about 70 miles to College Station, where he will be buried in a private service alongside his late wife, Barbara Bush, and their daughter Robin, who died of leukemia in 1953 at age 3.

The locomotive was painted to resemble Air Force One, but George H.W. Bush once joked that if it had been around during his presidency, he may have preferred to ride the rails rather than take to the skies.

Read: Presidential funeral train will be first in nearly 50 years

The country said good-bye to Bush Wednesday in a national funeral service in Washington. 
 
Bush died last week at age 94.

Watch Below: George W. Bush give heartfelt eulogy to father:

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