advertisement

The Latest: George W. Bush arrives to pay respects to Graham

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on those paying respects to the Rev. Billy Graham in Charlotte (all times local):

3:55 p.m.

Former President George W. Bush has arrived at the Rev. Billy Graham's library in North Carolina to pay respects to the late evangelist.

Bush arrived Monday afternoon at the Charlotte site where thousands of others from all walks of life have filed slowly past Graham's casket.

Bush has said he chose Monday to pay his respects because of a scheduling conflict with Graham's funeral in Charlotte on Friday.

Public viewing will continue Monday and Tuesday at Graham's Charlotte library on the campus of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

His body will then be taken to the U.S. Capitol, where Wednesday and Thursday he will be the first private citizen to lie in honor there since civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005.

___

2:25 p.m.

Former President Bill Clinton is expected to pay respects to the late evangelist Billy Graham in North Carolina.

Angel Urena, a spokeswoman for Clinton, said he plans to visit Charlotte on Tuesday.

Thousands have been filing through Graham's restored boyhood home in North Carolina to view his casket Monday.

His body will lie in repose Monday and Tuesday at his boyhood home in Charlotte on the grounds of his library. It will lie in honor Wednesday and Thursday at the U.S. Capitol before his funeral Friday.

___

12:05 p.m.

The grandson of the Rev. Billy Graham is shaking the hand of every person who walks past his grandfather's casket.

Roy Graham stood in the doorway of the parlor where Billy Graham's closed casket was placed Monday on a black-draped pedestal.

Graham's body will lie in repose Monday and Tuesday at his boyhood home in Charlotte on the grounds of his library.

Roy Graham says he wanted to thank people on behalf on his grandfather's family. And he says he was especially moved by the dozens of people who paused and told him the exact moment and place Billy Graham came into their lives through his hundreds of crusades around the world.

Graham's body will lie in honor Wednesday and Thursday at the U.S. Capitol before his funeral Friday.

___

9 a.m.

Hundreds of people have begun paying respect to the late Rev. Billy Graham at his restored boyhood home in North Carolina.

Graham's body, in a casket made by prison inmates, was in the parlor of the home Monday and will be there Tuesday. People of all ages and races arrived as light rain fell at Graham's library when the gates opened.

Cecily Turner of Queens, New York, flew to Charlotte on Sunday to make sure she thanked the man she said saved her mother's soul.

The 72-year-old grandmother of four says Graham's 1957 crusade at New York's Madison Square Garden means her soul is saved, as well as the souls of her five children.

Graham died Feb. 21. His body will be at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday and Thursday before Friday's funeral in Charlotte.

___

12 a.m.

A four-day period for the public to pay respects to the late Rev. Billy Graham is beginning at his boyhood home in North Carolina.

Mourners will file past Graham's body starting at 8 a.m. Monday. The man called "America's Pastor" is lying in repose in a closed casket at the home his father built in 1927 on their Charlotte dairy farm, which was long ago swallowed by urban sprawl. It was moved and restored by his library and is on the same campus as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Graham's body will spend two days at his library and then lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday and Thursday. Graham's funeral is Friday in North Carolina with President Donald Trump and others expected.

Graham died Wednesday at age 99.

People stop to pray after paying respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
People enter under a large cross at the Billy Graham Library as the come to pay respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
Wyatt Nordin, left, watches as his brother Lucas Nordin, right, of Atlanta, Ga., writes his name in the registry as people pay respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
People line up inside to pay respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
Roy Graham, grandson of Billy Graham, speaks to the media about the people coming to pay respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
People pause to pay respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
A couple pauses to pay respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
A couple walks past the casket after paying respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
People pause to pay respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
People stream through the Billy Graham Library as they come to pay respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
People stream through the Billy Graham Library as they come to pay respects to Billy Graham during a public viewing in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) The Associated Press
Pall bearers carry the casket carrying the body of Billy Graham as family member follow behind to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. Graham's body was brought to his hometown of Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 24, as part of a procession expected to draw crowds of well-wishers. (Jeff Siner/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press
Family members of the Rev. Billy Graham gather at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. Graham's body was brought to his hometown of Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 24, as part of a procession expected to draw crowds of well-wishers. (Jeff Siner/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press
Pall bearers carry the casket carrying the body of Billy Graham as family member follow behind to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. Graham's body was brought to his hometown of Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 24, as part of a procession expected to draw crowds of well-wishers. (Jeff Siner/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press
Pall bearers carry the casket carrying the body of Billy Graham to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. Graham's body was brought to his hometown of Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 24, as part of a procession expected to draw crowds of well-wishers. (Jeff Siner/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.