وبدأت مراسم الجنازة في كنيسة سانت مارتن الأسقفية التي تنتمي لها باربرا وعائلتها منذ الخمسينات.

وباربرا بوش هي زوجة جورج بوش الرئيس الحادي والأربعين للولايات المتحدة، ووالدة جورج بوش الابن الرئيس الثالث والأربعين للبلاد.

وشارك في المراسم الرئيسان السابقان باراك أوباما وبيل كلينتون، والسيدة الأميركية الأولى حاليا ميلانيا ترامب، والسيدة الأولى سابقا هيلاري كلينتون، وكذلك السيدة الأولى سابقا ميشيل أوباما.

وقال المؤرخ والكاتب جون ميتشام الذي كتب السيرة الذاتية لجورج إتش.دبليو.بوش في كلمة لتأبين باربرا بوش "لقد كانت صريحة ومريحة وثابتة ومباشرة وأمينة ومحبة للناس.. باربرا بوش وجورج بوش جعلا مصلحة البلد تتقدم على مصلحة الحزب والصالح العام على المكاسب السياسية وخدمة الآخرين على تسوية الحسابات".

ولم يسافر الرئيس دونالد ترامب إلى هيوستون. وقال البيت الأبيض الأسبوع الماضي إنه يريد تجنب عرقلة الجنازة بإجراءات الأمن الإضافية للرئيس.

وقال ترامب عبر تويتر "مشاعري وصلواتي مع عائلة بوش بأسرها".

أما الرئيس الأسبق جيمي كارتر لم يستطع الحضور لوجوده خارج الولايات المتحدة.

وشددت الإجراءات الأمنية قبل ساعات من الجنازة. وقامت الشرطة بفحص معدات المحطات الإعلامية بالكلاب البوليسية وتفتيش الحقائب.

وألقى مواطنون نظرة الوداع على باربرا بوش يوم الجمعة بعد نقل الجثمان إلى الكنيسة. وبعد قداس السبت ستوارى باربرا الثرى في حديقة مكتبة ومتحف جورج إتش.دبليو بوش في جامعة تكساس إيه آند إم بمدينة كولدج ستيشن بجوار ابنتها روبن التي توفيت بسرطان الدم وهي في الثالثة من عمرها.

وتزوجت باربرا من بوش قبل 73 عاما واشتهرت بتفانيها لأسرتها وحظيت بشعبية جارفة خلال فترة بقائها في البيت الأبيض.


Four former presidents among mourners at Barbara Bush funeral

Houston: Four of the United States' five living former presidents gathered at a Houston church on Saturday to remember the life, legacy and trademark pearls of former first lady Barbara Bush, who died on Tuesday at the age of 92.
Former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and George Bush joined about 1500 guests at St Martin's Episcopal Church, which she and her husband, former President George HW Bush, began attending soon after moving to Houston in the late 1950s.
Former President George HW Bush looks at the casket of his wife.
Former President George HW Bush looks at the casket of his wife.
The former First Lady was remembered as a formidable but caring figure whose devotion to her family was matched only by her commitment to public service.
"She was our teacher and role model in how to live a life of purpose and meaning," one of her four sons, former Florida governor and 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush, told the crowded Houston church on Saturday.
He then drew laughs with a nod to Bush's famously sharp tongue: "She called her style a benevolent dictatorship, but honestly, it wasn't all that benevolent."
On Friday, thousands of mourners, from the rich and famous to the working-class and the anonymous, paid their tributes at a public viewing, under heavy security and the solemnity of saying goodbye to one of the most prominent political matriarchs of their lifetimes.
"She's kind of America's grandma," said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo on Friday. "Barbara Bush is about as close to Texas royalty as you can come."
President Donald Trump, whom Barbara Bush had criticised in television interviews during the 2016 presidential campaign, was not present for the funeral on Saturday. White House officials said Trump would not go to the service "to avoid disruptions due to added security, and out of respect for the Bush family and friends attending the service." Trump said on Twitter that he would watch the funeral, which was nationally televised, from "the Southern White House" in Florida.
Melania Trump, the first lady, did attend, however, joining three former first ladies - Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton - at St. Martin's.
Melania Trump attended the funeral without her husband.
Melania Trump attended the funeral without her husband.
The 90-minute service, which began at 11am local time, had been in the works for years. Barbara Bush herself selected the three eulogists: her son Jeb Bush, the former two-term governor of Florida; Susan Baker, a longtime friend and the wife of James A Baker III, the former secretary of state; and Jon Meacham, a presidential historian who published a biography of her husband in 2015.
The casket is brought into St. Martin's Episcopal Church.
The casket is brought into St. Martin's Episcopal Church.
The cavernous sanctuary of the church was adorned with sprays of yellow garden roses, yellow snap dragons, antique hydrangeas and other flowers.
Jenna Bush Hager speaks during the funeral service.
Jenna Bush Hager speaks during the funeral service.
Barbara Bush was to be buried in a private service at Texas A&M University, on the grounds of the George HW Bush Presidential Library and Museum. She was to be buried beside her daughter Robin, who died of leukemia at the age of 3 in 1953.