George H.W. Bush, who shaped history as 41st president and patriarch of a family that occupied the White House for a dozen years, is going to his final rest Thursday in Texas.

The country said goodbye to him Wednesday in a national funeral service that offered high praise for the last of the presidents to have fought in World War II — and a hefty dose of humor about a man once described as a cross between Mister Rogers and John Wayne.

After three days of remembrance in Washington, a plane brought Bush’s casket for his funeral’s closing ceremonies in Houston and burial Thursday at his family plot on the presidential library grounds at Texas A&M University in College Station. His final resting place is alongside Barbara Bush, his wife of 73 years, and Robin Bush, the daughter they lost to leukemia at age 3.

The nation’s capital is bidding its final farewell to former President George H.W. Bush on Wednesday in a service of prayer and praise that has drawn together world envoys, Americans of high office and many others who were touched by Bush’s life in office and afterward.  The hearse had been driven in a motorcade to the Washington National Cathedral ceremony, slowing in front of the White House. Bush’s route was lined with people much of the way, bundled in winter hats and taking photos.  A military color guard stood at attention as the hearse arrived.

Wednesday’s ceremonies capped three days of remembrance in the nation’s capital by dignitaries and ordinary citizens as they honored the Republican president who oversaw the post-Cold War world transition and led a successful Gulf War, only to lose re-election in a generational shift to Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992.

The four living ex-presidents all came — among them, George W. Bush who will eulogize his father — and President Donald Trump will attend but is not scheduled to speak. Also attending: one king (Jordan), one queen (Jordan), two princes (Britain, Bahrain), Germany’s chancellor and Poland’s president, among representatives of more than a dozen countries.

Trump tweeted Wednesday that he was “looking forward to being with the Bush family,” calling the day “a celebration for a great man who has led a long and distinguished life.” Trump and his wife took their seats after the others, briefly greeting the Obamas seated next to them.

Also expected in the invitation-only crowd: Mike Lovejoy, a Kennebunkport electrician and fix-it man who has worked at Bush’s Maine summer estate since 1990 and says he was shocked and heartened to be asked to come.