Former President George H.W. Bush Dies at Age 94

President George H.W. Bush died on Friday, his spokesman, Jim McGrath, confirmed. He died at the [...]

By PopCulture.com Staff

President George H.W. Bush died on Friday, his spokesman, Jim McGrath, confirmed. He died at the age of 94, months after the funeral of his wife of 73 years, former First Lady Barbara Bush.

McGrath also released a statement from Bush's son, President George W. Bush.

The former president has been hospitalized several times over the last few years, from side effects of his Parkinson's Disease, as well as a fall that led him to break a vertebrae in his neck while at his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Bush was hospitalized in April 2017, due to a "mild case of pneumonia." Earlier that year, he was hospitalized for 16 days, also due to pneumonia. He was temporarily placed on a ventilator and was treated in the intensive care unit. His wife was also hospitalized around the same time to treat a case of bronchitis.

Bush was one of five living former presidents along with his son, George W. Bush; his successor, Bill Clinton; Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter. Gerald Ford in 2006 was the last former president to pass away; he was also 93.

The elder Bush was born on June 12, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts, to Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy (Walker) Bush. He got his start in politics soon after founding his own oil company, serving as a member of the House of Representatives and Director of Central Intelligence.

He did not win the Republican nomination for President in 1980, but was chosen by Ronald Reagan as his running mate. During their eight-year tenure together in the White House, Bush spearheaded administration task forces on deregulation and fighting the "War on Drugs."

In 1988, Bush ran a successful campaign to follow Reagan as President, defeating the Democratic nominee, Michael Dukakis. He entered office at a period of change in the world — the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Soviet Union came early in his presidency.

After a weak recovery from an economic recession and continuing budget deficits, Bush lost the re-election to Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992. Ironically, he has been active alongside Clinton in various humanitarian activities since both their presidential runs have ended.

Bush and wife Barbara Pierce married on January 6, 1945, and gave birth to six children. The eldest, George Walker Bush, went on to become president from 2000 to 2008. His third child, John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, went on to pursue the Republican nomination for president in the 2016 election, but dropped out early on in the race after a lackluster response to his candidacy.

Bush died almost eight months after Barbara Bush, who passed away on April 17 at the age of 92. He mourned the former first lady years in a statement this past spring, calling her "a woman unlike any other."

"Barbara Bush was a fabulous First Lady and a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love, and literacy to millions," Bush said. "To us, she was so much more. Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until then."

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