'A GOOD EXAMPLE'

Side by side, Democratic and Republican leaders laid floral red, white and blue wreaths around his casket.

"His example will always inspire, and his lifetime of service will be enshrined in the hearts of the American people forever," said Vice President Mike Pence.

After the official ceremony, the public will be allowed to pay its respects. Mourners lined up at the Capitol in the afternoon, many speaking with nostalgia for the comity of the Bush era, in sharp contrast to today's bitter divisions in the age of President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican.

“I think it’s night and day," said Sheila Murray, 58, from Stevensville, Maryland, who came with her 14-year-old son, Thomas.

"And I would want to encourage moms to look at what good leaders are and to never lose hope that they can’t raise their children with good morals and integrity."

After services in Washington, there will be another funeral in Houston on Thursday, followed by burial at the Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.

Bush served two terms as vice president under Republican President Ronald Reagan before his own stint in the Oval Office from 1989 to 1993, a time that saw the end of the Cold War as well as the US routing of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's army in the 1991 Gulf War.

He failed to win a second term after breaking a no-new-taxes pledge, losing to Democrat Bill Clinton.

Trump has ordered the federal government to close on Wednesday and both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will be closed in observance. US bond and options markets were also due to be closed, with energy and foreign exchange markets expected to remain open.

Remembrances to George and Barbara Bush sprang up in the Houston neighborhood where they made their home, at a memorial to the late president at a city park and at the airport named in his honor.

Christy Smith paused over the weekend to pay her respects to Bush at a bronze statue of him at a Houston park.

"He set a good example for all of us," said Smith, 39. "He always was caring and treated people equally."

Reuters