On November 30, 2018, George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the 43rd vice president, died from vascular Parkinson's syndrome at his home in Houston, Texas. At the age of 94 years, 171 days, Bush was the longest-lived president in U.S. history at the time of his death, a record which has since been surpassed by Jimmy Carter's.
Shortly after news broke of Bush's death, President Donald Trump declared a national day of mourning and ordered all flags "throughout the United States and its territories and possessions" lowered to half staff for 30 days after his death. Bush's state funeral was the official funerary rites conducted by the U.S. government, which occurred over a period of four days from December 3 to 6, 2018. About a dozen world leaders attended the event.
Background
Bush experienced a series of health problems in his final years. In 2012, he was diagnosed with vascular Parkinsonism, necessitating the use of a mobility scooter and eventually a wheelchair, limiting his speech and his ability to travel across the world. Due to this, he did not participate at the memorial service of Nelson Mandela in 2013, opting to send a message of condolence to Mandela's family and watch the event on television instead. He was hospitalized numerous times in serious condition, most notably missing the inauguration of Donald Trump due to being in the intensive care unit at Houston Methodist Hospital.
Following the death of his wife Barbara on April 17, 2018, Bush continued to deal with a variety of health issues. He was hospitalized a day after her funeral in critical condition with sepsis, but he was eventually stabilized and released. In May, a month before his 94th birthday, he was briefly admitted to a hospital in Maine due to low blood pressure. Released after about two weeks, he returned to Houston.
In late November, Bush's health began to decline again. He received former president Barack Obama at his home for what was described as a "private visit" on November 27. By November 28, he had stopped eating and did not leave his bed, telling his medical staff he did not want to return to the hospital. James Baker, former Secretary of State and a longtime friend of Bush, reported that Bush's condition had improved by the morning of November 30, as he had begun eating again and was able to sit up from his bed and converse with others. According to Baker, Bush's last meal consisted of three soft-boiled eggs, a cup of yogurt, and two fruit drinks.
By that evening, however, his health again worsened and death was imminent. Irish tenor Ronan Tynan came and sang two songs for Bush, as his family and friends gathered at the household or were placed on speakerphone calls to say their goodbyes. Bush's son, former president George W. Bush, called from his home in Dallas and told his father that he loved him; the elder Bush replied "I love you, too", which were his last words. Shortly after that conversation, Bush died at 10:10 p.m. Central Standard Time. Baker described the death as "peaceful", adding "If those things could be sweet, it was sweet".
Within hours of his death, the former president's office issued a statement indicating that funeral arrangements would be announced "as soon as practical". The exact cause of death was not immediately announced.
Reactions
I do further appoint December 5, 2018, as a national day of mourning throughout the United States. I call on the American people to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President George H.W. Bush. I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn observance.
— Donald Trump, Proclamation of the President, December 1, 2018
At 12:49 a.m. EST on December 1, President Donald Trump tweeted that his and Melania Trump's "hearts ache with his loss and we, with the entire American people, send our prayers to the entire Bush family". Former president Barack Obama said that "George H. W. Bush's life is a testament to the notion that public service is a noble, joyous calling. And he did tremendous good along the journey." Former president Bill Clinton sent a statement that "Hillary and I mourn the passing of President George H.W. Bush, and give thanks for his great long life of service, love, and friendship. I will be forever grateful for the friendship we formed. From the moment I met him as a young governor invited to his home in Kennebunkport, I was struck by the kindness he showed to Chelsea, by his innate genuine decency, and by his devotion to Barbara, his children, and their growing brood." Former president Jimmy Carter also mourned his death, saying his administration was "marked by grace, civility, and social conscience." Former vice president Dan Quayle, who served with Bush, said that "the world mourns the loss of a great American" and that he had often told his children to look to Bush as a role model. Former vice president Al Gore issued a statement calling Bush a "man of integrity". Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston – where Bush resided at the time of his death – said that he joined "Houstonians in mourning the death of George Herbert Walker Bush and expressing heartfelt condolences to his children and the rest of the Bush family".
Initial activities
Gun salutes and memorial musters
U.S. Army Regulation 600–25 provides that United States Army posts are to fire continuous artillery volleys at 30-minute intervals from sunrise to sunset the day after official notice is received of the death of a former president of the United States. As also provided for by regulation, the corps of cadets of the United States Military Academy are to be immediately assembled to be officially informed of the death by the superintendent.
National mourning
At mid-morning on December 1, President Donald Trump proclaimed December 5 to be a national day of mourning. The proclamation further decreed that American flags "on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions" be lowered to half staff until December 30, 2018. In addition, all agencies of the United States Government throughout the United States were ordered closed on the day of mourning and the Supreme Court of the United States announced it would postpone hearing oral arguments in Gamble v. United States which had been previously scheduled for that day.
The United States Postal Service suspended regular mail deliveries, retail services and administrative office activity on December 5 as part of the national day of mourning although there was limited package delivery to avoid any setbacks for the Holiday season. All of the United States' principal financial exchanges – including the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ – suspended trading for the duration of the day of mourning.
Foreign observances
The Government of the United Kingdom issued instructions that all government offices in the United Kingdom were to lower the Union Flag to half-mast on December 1, 2018. In Canada, flags on all federal buildings were ordered flown at half-staff on December 5.
On December 1 the Kuwait Towers displayed images of Bush in honor of his vital role in the Gulf War.
The President of the Republic of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi announced on December 5 the day of national mourning with the flags half-masted.
Two hours following the death of Bush, approximately 100 students at Texas A&M University gathered at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and proceeded to a nearby statue of Bush to pay respects. Later that day, on an overlook near the Bush Compound in Maine, people spontaneously gathered to lay flowers, among them including former University of Massachusetts president Jack M. Wilson. A makeshift memorial of flowers, flags, and cards was also created by members of the public outside the gates of Bush's Houston home.
The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas announced on December 1 that it would immediately lay out a book of condolence for members of the public to sign. Also on December 1, the city of Houston announced it would hold a memorial service in honor of Bush on the evening of December 3, 2018, at Hermann Square in front of the Houston City Hall with the Houston Symphony scheduled to provide music.
Moments of silence were observed at sporting events in the weeks following George Bush's death, including prior to the December 3 NFL game between the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, and before the December 9 Army–Navy Game, among others.
State funeral
Planning
Prior to his death, Bush filed a 211-page document with the Military District of Washington, which contains a request for an aerial flyover of fighter jets in missing man formation by the United States Air Force during his state funeral as well as final interment and burial to occur at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas. Bush also indicated that he did not want the presidential fanfare, "Hail to the Chief", to be performed during final interment and burial. In addition, Bush made plans for a national funeral service to be held at Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
Security measures
The Department of Homeland Security designated the Washington phase of the state funeral as a National Special Security Event, as they have done with the state funerals of Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, as with other major Washington events since September 11, 2001.
Ceremony
The state funeral, as announced, occurred in three stages.
Air transport of Bush's remains occurred aboard a VC-25, tail number 29000, of the United States Air Force's 89th Airlift Wing operating under the call sign "Special Air Mission 41" (SAM41).
Stage One (Houston, Texas)
On the morning of December 3, 2018, the casket carrying Bush's remains was moved from Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home in Houston to a waiting hearse which then proceeded along a specially closed stretch of Interstate 610 to Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base. The hearse was escorted by Houston Police Department motorcycle outriders and arrived on the runway by approximately 11:45 a.m. Central Standard Time.
A brief ceremony was held on the apron for 100 invited guests, among them George P. Bush, prior to the casket's placement on the waiting "Special Air Mission 41" VC-25 which completed take off by 12:10 p.m. Former president George W. Bush accompanied the casket aboard the aircraft, and was joined by the late president Bush's service dog Sully.
Stage Two (Washington, D.C.)
At approximately 3:25 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 3, Special Air Mission 41 arrived at Joint Base Andrews. The casket containing Bush's remains was removed from the aircraft as the United States Air Force Band performed "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and a 21 gun salute was executed by the U.S. Army's Presidential Salute Battery. The casket proceeded through a ramp guard composed of U.S. armed forces personnel into a waiting Cadillac XTS Echelon hearse for transfer to the United States Capitol.
Bush lay in state in the United States Capitol rotunda from the evening of December 3 through the morning of December 5.
On December 5, at approximately 10:00 a.m. EST, the casket was transferred from the Capitol rotunda for funeral services at Washington National Cathedral. The officiating clergy included Michael Bruce Curry, Mariann Edgar Budde, Randolph Marshall Hollerith, and Dr. Russell Levenson Jr. Rosemarie Logan Duncan was the master of ceremonies. Lauren Bush, Ashley Walker Bush, and Jenna Bush Hager were readers. Jan Naylor Cope provided the Intercession. Tributes were made by Jon Meacham, Brian Mulroney, Alan K. Simpson, and George W. Bush. President Donald Trump attended, but the Bush family didn't ask him to speak, making this the first state funeral in which there was no tribute from the sitting president since that of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973.