Former president of the United States George Herbert Walker Bush has reportedly passed away shortly after 10 p.m. on Friday, November 30, according to his spokesperson Jim McGrath.
He was 94 years old.
"George H. W. Bush was a man of the highest character..."
Bush's son, the 43rd president of the United States George W. Bush, also confirmed the sad news in a statement.
"Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died," read the statement. "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."
Statement by the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush, on the passing of his father this evening at the age 94. pic.twitter.com/oTiDq1cE7h
— Jim McGrath (@jgm41) December 1, 2018
The businessman-turned-politician was elected to office as the 41st president in 1989 after famously promising to move America towards "a thousand points of light." He held the position until 1993.
A man of many hats
Prior to his stint in the Oval office, Bush, the son of a senator, became the youngest Navy pilot to serve in the World War II at the age of 18.
He was later nominated as the 11th director of the CIA as well as the 43rd Vice President of the U.S. under President Ronald Reagan.
The elder Bush's extensive resume also includes roles as a two-term congressman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, senior US envoy in China, and an ambassador to the United Nations.
In 2011, former President Barack Obama awarded the longest-living American president with the presidential medal of freedom, the country's highest civilian honor.
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Failing health
Unfortunately, in the recent years he was forced to cut back on work after his health began to suffer.
Bush was diagnosed with vascular Parkinsonism, a rare condition that mimics symptoms of Parkinson's disease. His illness, along with a broken vertebrae confined him to a wheelchair for the last few years.
In 2017, he was rushed to the hospital twice, in January and in April. Both times, McGrath, confirmed that the former POTUS suffered complications related to pneumonia.
At this time, no cause of death has been revealed.
Bush's passing comes just eight months after his wife of 73 years, Barbara, died at the age of 92. The couple met in 1941 at a dance at the Round Hill Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut.
They got married in 1945 after Bush returned home from the war. The couple welcomed six children - daughters Pauline and Doro and sons Marvin, Neil, George, and former governor Jeb Bush.
In addition to his five children (Pauline died in 1953), Bush is survived by his 17 grandchildren, including twins Jenna and Barbara, eight great-grandchildren, and two siblings.
