The Legacy of George H.W. Bush, 41st President Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

George H W Bush Died as He Lived — Quietly and With Dignity

Former president is remembered for remarkable life of service civility and patriotism

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images Editor's note: This article has been updated to include funeral information. He was born into privilege in Milton, Mass., but George Herbert Walker Bush became a practical man and dignified politician who helped maneuver America through global conflict and the end of the Cold War. After a life illuminated by four decades of public service and a “points of light’’ personal philosophy, the 41st president died Friday as he had lived, quietly and with dignity surrounded by family and close friends at his home in Houston. He was 94. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. No cause of death was released but it was no secret that the elder statesman’s , and he reportedly told family members this year that he did not want to return to the hospital. Among other ailments, the former president suffered from a form of . Patriarch of a powerful Texas political family — eldest son was the 43rd president — the Yale University graduate was married to for 73 years until her death at 92 last April. On Saturday, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called his father “the greatest human being that I ever will know.’’ His brother, former President Bush said their dad, “was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for.” Wednesday, the first presidential funeral since Gerald Ford died in 2006 will be held at Washington National Cathedral. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump will be among the many distinguished mourners expected to attend the invitation-only service. The Bush family (in-laws, children and grandchildren) in the White House on Inauguration day 1989. David Valdez/White House/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Bush will lie in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol until Wednesday morning. He also will lie in repose late Wednesday and early Thursday at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, where a second memorial service will be held Thursday morning. He will be interred later Thursday at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Trump has declared Wednesday a National Day of Mourning and tweeted, in part, that Bush “led a long, successful and beautiful life. Whenever I was with him I saw his absolute joy for life and true pride in his family. His accomplishments were great from beginning to end.’’ AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins said, “President Bush lived a remarkable life of service, civility and patriotism. Everyone at AARP sends our sincerest sympathies to the Bush family. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > Just four years ago, at 90, Bush took the last of those four birthday skydiving jumps. He was taken from a wheelchair to a helicopter before his 6,000-foot leap. “I think it sends a message around the country that, just because you’re 80, doesn’t mean you can’t do fun stuff or interesting things,’’ he told broadcaster Larry King. “You can. And I am.’’
Bush’s estimable public record included serving as a decorated World War II Navy pilot, U.S. congressman, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, ambassador to China, and two-term vice president for President Ronald Reagan. Bush presided over multiple conflicts, including the Persian Gulf War and a short-lived skirmish against Panama.
Former President George H.W. Bush celebrates his 75th birthday skydiving with the U.S. Army Golden Knights. Getty Images During his one-term presidency from 1989-1993, Bush served in the White House during the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the breakup of Eastern Europe’s communist bloc. Retired Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bush, remembered his boss as a “superb commander in chief.’’ “He was very, very deliberate in his thinking, knowing that we were sending young men and women to war, and (that) some lives would be lost,’’ Powell told CNN on Saturday. National tributes paying respect to Bush’s humble service, forbearance and demeanor were immediate. Known as a collector of friends, he was remembered for reaching across the aisle to political opponents as he preached a “kinder, gentler nation.’’
AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS