Jenna Bush Hager takes comfort in knowing that although her grandfather George H.W. Bush has passed away, he gets to be reunited with his late wife Barbara, who died in April.
“Waking up missing this giant of a man who gave me everything,” the Today show correspondent, who just celebrated her 37th birthday on Sunday, wrote on Instagram Saturday.
“He taught me and my family about service, family, decency, the power of gentle words and a beautiful heart,” she continued, adding that while she “will miss him desperately,” she’s “so happy he and my Grandmother are back together.”
Alongside the touching tribute, she shared a series of family snapshots taken through the years.
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Jenna went on to pen a lengthier post alongside a touching cartoon that showed her grandfather being reunited in heaven with his wife and their daughter Robin, who died at the age of 3 of leukemia.
In the image, Bush’s late wife and daughter tell him “we waited for you,” as all three of them hold hands in the clouds.
“This brought me such comfort this morning,” she wrote, before sharing a conversation about death that she had with her grandfather before he died at age 94 on Friday.
“I had the opportunity to talk with my grandpa about the afterlife. This is what he said: He answered without any hesitation. ‘Yes, I think about it. I used to be afraid. I used to be afraid of dying. I used to worry about death. But now in some ways I look forward to it,’” she continued. “And I started crying. I managed to choke out, ‘Well, why? What do you look forward to?’ ”
In response, he said: “ ‘Well, when I die, I’m going to be reunited with these people that I’ve lost.’ And I asked who he hoped to see. He replied I hope I see Robin, and I hope I see my mom.”
Her grandfather went on to share that he didn’t know whether his daughter would still look like “the three year old that she was, this chubby, vivacious child,” when they saw each other again, or whether she would be all grown up.
“And then he said, ‘I hope she’s the three-year-old,’” she continued, before revealing a sweet memory Bush shared with his entire family of his late daughter. “Robin was the daughter this giant of a man lost years before to leukemia. The little girl he held tightly: who spoke the phrase I have heard Gampy repeat for my entire life, forever knitting Robin’s voice into the tightly woven fabric of our family: ‘I Love you more than tongue can tell.’”
Moments after news of his father’s death was announced on Friday, former President George W. Bush also shared a heartwarming tribute to his father and to his parents’ love on Instagram.
“Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died,” George W. Bush captioned a photo showing his late father walking arm and arm with his late wife, former First Lady Barbara Bush, who died at age 92 nearly eight months earlier.
“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 the 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,” he added.
Hours later, his brother Jeb Brush added, “I already miss the greatest human being that I will ever know. Love you Dad!”
His grandson George P. Bush also wrote on Twitter Friday, “My grandfather was the greatest man I ever knew.”
“Along the way, he married the love of his life and was a father to six, including a president and two governors. But to me, he will always be Gampy. The man who taught me to fish in Maine, to throw a horseshoe and to swing a baseball bat lefty,” he continued in a series of tweets. “He was more than a great man; he was a good man. His courage was matched by his compassion; and his dedication to country was equaled only by his devotion to his family. Gampy, we love you and we will miss you. But we will never forget you.”
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The former president died on Friday night at 10:10 p.m., his spokesperson Jim McGrath confirmed.
Following the death of his wife of 73 years on April 17, the lifelong Republican remained devoted to his bride, sitting beside her casket for hours in his wheelchair as mourners paid their respects while she laid in repose one day before her invitation-only funeral.
But the weight of her passing clearly took a toll on Bush, who was hospitalized less than 24 hours after burying his wife after contracting an infection that spread to his blood. He later recovered and traveled to the family’s beloved summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, in mid-May, but a week later was readmitted to the hospital for low blood pressure and fatigue.
The New England native leaves behind five living children: George W., Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Dorothy — 17 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by daughter Robin, who is buried alongside her mother.