remembering barbara bush

Houston funeral services announced for former first lady Barbara Bush

The public will have a chance to pay their respects to Barbara Bush this week.

Courtesy photo

The flags have been lowered to half-staff at the funeral home where friends and family will gather to privately visit the body of Barbara Bush. The private visitation will be held at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home in Houston Wednesday, April 18, and Thursday, April 19.

Here is the updated scheduleof services.

Friday:

The public will be able to say goodbye to Mrs. Bush whose body will be lying in repose. That viewing will be held at St. Martin's Church between noon and midnight.

You cannot park directly at the church. You must go to Second Baptist Church on Woodway Dr. to park, and then go through security.

Houston Metro bus service will shuttle visitors from the Second Baptist Parking Lot to St. Martin's.

Saturday:

A private funeral service will be held at Second Baptist Church. The service will be for 1,500 guests. Mrs. Bush has repeatedly said she wanted a very simple service. Several former presidents and first ladies plan to attend.

After the service, there will be a funeral procession from Houston to College Station that will proceed through Memorial Park. The motorcade will go north on Westcott, then up Highway 290, Highway 6, into College Station via Texas Avenue. The procession will turn left on George Bush Drive, and right into the library on Barbara Bush Drive.

Mrs. Bush will be laid to rest next to her daughter, Robin, who died from Leukemia at 3-years-old.

The burial ceremony will be private.

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For more on the life and legacy of former first lady Barbara Bush, visit our content partner ABC13.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”