George H.W. Bush remembered by Trump, Obama and NASA

George H W Bush Presidential Portrait 1989 — George H. W. Bush Presidential Portrait 1989

The 41^st president of the U.S., George Herbert Walker Bush, died overnight on November 30, 2018. He lived to be 94. Bush was a political patriarch of notable Republicans, including George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, and the 43rd Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush – who also ran against current U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

History has recorded George H.W. Bush’s final words on this earth to be “I love you too,” spoken to his son George over the phone just before the elder Bush passed away.

On December 1, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine released the following statement on the passing of George H.W. Bush.

“NASA and the nation mourn the passing of President George Herbert Walker Bush, a leader who was a passionate advocate for space exploration.

“President Bush is a personal hero of mine and a major inspiration in my life. I remember like yesterday watching the 1992 Republican National Convention, learning of his life of sacrifice, and hearing his whimsical memories of ‘sitting on an aircraft carrier, looking at the stars, and dreaming about a girl named Barbara.’ From being the Navy’s youngest fighter pilot in World War II and being shot down, to his years of public service in Congress, the State Department, CIA, Vice President and President, there was nothing he wouldn’t give for our country and her people.

“President Bush’s Space Exploration Initiative helped us to think big and long-term about space. His impassioned vision of ‘a journey into tomorrow – a journey to another planet – a manned mission to Mars,’ helped sustain NASA’s early work on the International Space Station, and it still can be felt in our ongoing efforts to send humans farther into the solar system to live and work for extended periods.

“The President noted it was humanity’s destiny to explore, and America’s destiny to lead. We salute this great American leader, who challenged us to chart a course for the future to benefit all humanity.”

The Twitter-verse is full of statements and remembrances of the 41^st president, including statements from current U.S. President and former U.S. President Barack Obama:

WRAL reported that the elder Bush will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda from Monday evening through Wednesday morning. A memorial service for family and friends is scheduled for Wednesday morning beginning at 11:00 a.m. at the National Cathedral.

A second memorial service for Bush will be held Thursday at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston where the former president lived.

Bush will then be taken by a motorcade procession to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, where he will be laid to rest. Both Bush’s wife Barbara, the former first lady who died in April, and their daughter Robin, who died of leukemia as a child, are laid to rest on the library’s grounds. ~ WRAL