George Bush Presidential Library and Museum Audiovisual Archive Gallery: 7/8
Prescott Bush, Jr., pictured in the childhood photo above, is a brother of George H.W. Bush. He was born in 1922 and died on June 23, 2010. He was an insurance executive and died at the age of 87, The New York Times reported. He was the chair of a Republican committee in Greenwich, although he focused more on business than politics during his life. Prescott was born only able to use one eye. A family story said that his mother, Dorothy, was rounding the bases for a home run in a softball game when she went into labor with Prescott, The Washington Post reported. His father, meanwhile, was playing golf.
Prescott and George H.W. shared rooms for a while as children. Their mother eventually gave them separate rooms, but when asked what they wanted for Christmas, they both asked separately to be in the same room together again. They stayed sharing a bedroom until Prescott went to boarding school, The Washington Post reported.
In 1943, Prescott dropped out of college and moved to South America, working for Pan American Airways. He then returned to the U.S. and worked on Wall Street. He joined Johnson & Higgins in 1952 and was a partner. In 1982, he challenged Lowell P. Weicker for a Senate seat. The New York Times noted: "Mr. Bush fumbled initially, occasionally forgetting lines on the campaign trail and causing a stir when he joked about illegal immigrants being needed in Greenwich to clean houses." He won a Republican caucus and was gaining momentum, but then dropped out of the Republican primary race in July 1982, stunning many. At the time, people said that he was like his father and not truly interested in politics, but just dabbling in it momentarily.
After his death, the Bush family said about Prescott in a statement: "Above all else, he was a devoted family man whose philanthropy started at home... [He] loved life, family and friends and lived with a spirit of abundance."
Prescott established the Shanghai Country Club in 1990 in China.
Prescott was married to Elizabeth Bush for 66 years, and they had a son James, a daughter Kelsey Bush-Nadeau, and six grandchildren.
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.