George Bush Presidential Library and Museum Audiovisual Archive Gallery: 2/8
Prescott and Dorothy Bush are pictured above. Prescott Bush, the father of George H.W. Bush, was born in 1895 and died in 1972. He worked as an executive banker on Wall Street and then served on the U.S. Senate representing Connecticut from 1952 to 1963. He graduated from Yale and was an artillery officer in World War I. He became active in the Republican Party after settling in Connecticut in the 1920s, including supporting Planned Parenthood. Prescott retired from the Senate in 1962, after choosing not to seek re-election. He was a member of the Skulls and Bones secret society, as were George H.W. and George W.
Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker were married in 1920 at Kennebunkport, Maine and had five children: Prescott Jr., George H.W., Nancy, Jonathan, and William "Bucky." Nancy and Jonathan are still alive. Prescott Bush died in 1972 at the age of 77. His wife Dorothy died in 1992.
Prescott's grandfather was the Rev. James Smith Bush. James entered Yale in 1841 - he was the first Bush to attend Yale. He then studied law and joined the bar in 1847. His first marriage was to Sarah Freeman but she died in childbirth 18 months after they were married. Her death led him to study divinity and become ordained in the Episcopal church. He and Harriet married in 1859 and had four children: James Freeman, Samuel Prescott, Harold Montfort, and Eleanor Howard. In 1885, he wrote Evidence of Faith, a book which argued against supernatural explanations for God. In 1888 he left the Episcopal Church and became a Unitarian. He had health problems for the rest of his life and died in 1889 while raking leaves.
George Herbert Walker Bush was America's 41st President. He died just about seven months after the death of his beloved wife, Barbara Bush. A statement released by Jim McGrath on behalf of George W. Bush on November 30, 2018 read: "Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died. George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41’s life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens."
McGrath, the family spokesman, later released a second statement which read: "George Herbert Walker Bush, World War II naval aviator, Texas oil pioneer, and 41st President of the United States of America, died on November 30, 2018. He was 94 and is survived by his five children and their spouses, 17 grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, and two siblings. He was preceded in death by his wife of 73 years, Barbara; his second child Pauline Robinson ‘Robin’ Bush; and his brothers, Prescott and William or ‘Bucky’ Bush. Funeral arrangements will be announced as soon as is practical."
Bush suffered the complications of vascular Parkinsonism for years before he passed away. The disease was why he was in a wheelchair during his last years. Vascular Parkinsonism is an "atypical" Parkinsonism that has symptoms similar to Parkinson's, but is caused by a series of small strokes rather than the neurodegeneration seen in traditional Parkinson's.
Former President Bush died at 10:10 p.m. Central time on November 30.