Jenna Bush Hager Says Her Dad Made Up ‘Hilarious’ Game During Train Ride To Lay Grandpa George HW Bush To Rest

It may have been an emotional past week for the Bush family, but Jenna Bush Hager shared today on the Today Show that despite the heartache, there were some bright spots.

Jenna’s grandfather, 41st President George H.W. Bush, was laid to rest last week following his death on November 30. He was remembered nearly all week in a few different services. From Monday night until Wednesday, his body laid in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda before a state funeral took place at the National Cathedral on Wednesday.

Then on Thursday, another funeral was held at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, before family and some close friends boarded a train and brought the late president’s body to the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, where he was laid to rest next to his beloved wife Barbara Bush and daughter Robin Bush.

Jenna Bush Hager returned to work this past Monday, where she serves as a contributor on the Today Show. While there, she shared memories of her late grandfather and according to People, she also told her colleagues and viewers of the show that the family had a little bit of fun on their way to lay their grandpa to rest.

She explained that she and her family took the train from Houston to College Station, something that her grandfather had always wanted to do. During the ride, they passed thousands of fans who lined the rail tracks to pay tribute to the late 41st president. And Jenna’s dad, George W. Bush decided to pass time by making somewhat of a game out of the ride.

“We had this hilarious time with my dad, where he’d be like, ‘Okay, let’s see if we can get the guy in the black shirt to wave.’ We played this game, and it filled us up with such hope, and I think, you know, not everybody gets to have — they lose their grandparents, or people they love, and they’re not celebrated. And he was celebrated.”

Bush Hager also said that the final train ride served as a “proper tribute” to her grandfather and she and her family feel so lucky to have gotten to take part in it.

Jenna first posted about her grandfather’s death on December 1, just one day after he passed away. In a post on Instagram, the 37-year-old shared a series of photos of her grandpa over the years along with a sweet caption that called him a “giant of a man.”

To end the post, Bush Hager fittingly wrote that she was glad that her grandma and grandpa were finally together again, only this time in heaven.