The late George H.W. Bush was paid respects on Dec. 5, with family, former and present leaders, and dignitaries at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. visiting his casket. While many in the field of entertainment had also lauded him since his death on Friday (Nov. 30), Billy Ray Cyrus waited until this very solemn day to share his own memories.

Cyrus posted a letter to Instagram that Bush had written him in 1992, right around the time Cyrus' career-defining single "Achy Breaky Heart" was at a frenzied peak. In the note, Bush Sr. congratulates Cyrus on his Single of the Year Country Music Association Award (which he'd won the night before) and noted that he himself thought "It's a hit!"

"This letter hangs in my music room. The angels are singing him home," noted Cyrus in his post regarding the charming, down-to-earth correspondence.

Bush died at the age of 94, and had many friends in the country music realm, including the Oak Ridge Boys who are scheduled to sing "Amazing Grace" on Thursday at Bush's funeral service at St. Episcopal Church in Houston, one day after his formal state funeral in Washington D.C.