HOUSTON, Texas (NEWS CENTER Maine) – Thousands of people came out Wednesday night to pay their respects to President George H. W. Bush as his body lies in repose at Saint Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston until 6 a.m. Thursday.
While the majority of people were from Texas and the Houston area, some had visited Maine, specifically to see Walker’s Point and the Bush family’s favorite places in their summer home.
”It’s so lovely to picture someone in their happy place, and I believe that he had two: here in Houston, and there with you in Kennebunkport, Maine,” said Lisa Jakel, who visited Walker’s Point two summers ago.
”That night I went to eat at Mabel’s Lobster Claw because I heard that’s one of his favorite places,” said Houstonian Merry Davis, who recalled a birthday trip to Maine.
At the Second Baptist Church, lines of thousands of people wrapped around the church’s campus after going through security. They boarded shuttles there and were transported to and from Saint Martin’s.
Texans know that while President Bush called Houston his home, he also had a special place in his heart for Kennebunkport.
”We’re happy to share. He’s a great man,” said Davis.
”I think we share him with the entire country. Maine is a special place of course,” said Jim Greenwood, a Houstonian who waited in line to see President Bush.
The public will be able to see the President lying in repose until 6 a.m. CT Thursday.
At 10 a.m. CT, the private services begin, followed by a train procession to College Station, about 80 miles from Houston, to the campus of Texas A&M University and the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, where Mr. Bush will be laid to rest with his late wife, the former First Lady, Barbara, and their daughter, Robin.