WASHINGTON -- President Bush is honoring his former spokesman, Tony Snow, by recounting his experiences at the White House and offering prayers and continued support for his family.

Snow died of colon cancer July 12. He was being remembered Thursday at services at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the campus of Catholic University.

A family friend and members of the family also were expected to speak at the funeral for the 53-year-old Snow, who is survived by his wife, Jill, and their three children.

Snow was White House press secretary from May 2006 until last September. He was long a member of Washington’s power circles, and a familiar face across the country, as a conservative commentator and an interviewer on TV and radio for Fox News.

“I came to know Tony as a very smart and capable man,” Bush said after learning Snow had died. “He had good values. He was an honest guy. You know, he had a wonderful sense of humor. He loved to laugh, he loved his country, and he loved his family.”