George Bush Presidential Library and Museum Audiovisual Archive Gallery: 4/8
William "Bucky" Bush is pictured with his brothers above. William Henry Trotter "Bucky" Bush was a businessman and the youngest son of Prescott and Dorothy Bush, and George H.W. Bush's younger brother. He was born in 1938 and died on February 27, 2018, just months before Barbara Bush died and less than a year before his brother died. He was 79 when he died.
Bucky was active in Republican politics and headed George W. Bush's re-election campaign in 2004, The New York Times reported. He also worked as a fundraiser on Jeb Bush's campaigns and George HW's.
He was the cofounder and chair of the Bush O'Donnell Investment Advisers in St. Louis, and was previously president of Boatmen's National Bank. In 2007, he got national attention when he and other directors of a defense contractor, Engineered Support Systems, got $6 million from what federal regulators had said was an illegal scheme to manipulate stock option grants, The New York Times reported. ESS had profited from the Irqq war. Bucky was not accused of wrongdoing by the SEC.
Bucky was an accomplished guitar player and pianist, Legacy.com noted. He rewrote lyrics and told great jokes and was an avid sportsman, loving tennis, golf, and backgammon.
Bucky was married to Patricia Redfearn from 1959 until she died in 2015. They had two children: Scott Bush and Louisa McCall. He also had five grandchildren: Katherine, Alex, Henry, William, and Lucinda.
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.