In Bush’s final moments, comfort from his family and lifelong friend
The day before he died, former President George H.W. Bush had taken a significant turn for the worse. He had not been out of bed for several days and had not eaten anything except for a couple of spoons of applesauce. Those close to him thought the end was near.
On Friday morning, his close friend, former Secretary of State James Baker, dropped by for a visit. Bush was alert, sitting up in bed, and had a large breakfast — three 5-minute soft boiled eggs, a large cup of yogurt and two fruit drinks.
“We all thought, ‘Well wait a minute here,’ ” Baker said the next day. “He’s confounding us again because this wouldn’t have been the first time he bounced back and fooled everybody when they thought he was checking out.”
Baker was not just Bush’s secretary of state. He was his lifelong friend, tennis partner and confidant. So during the recent ups and downs, Baker visited often. On Friday evening, Baker and his wife, Susan, stopped by again at the Bush home in Tanglewood, and the former president appeared still to be doing relatively well. He was alert, sitting up and responding to questions.
The Irish tenor Ronan Tynan was at the house and sang “Silent Night” for him, with Bush mouthing the words to the song.
“Everything about it was quite emotional,” Baker said, “but it was sweet.”
The Bakers went out to dinner with friends and on the way home received word that Bush had again taken a turn for the worse. They returned to the home.
Some family members had gathered at the house, including son Neil, his wife, Maria, and Marvin Bush’s daughter, Marshall. Other family members, including former President George W. Bush, had called in on a speakerphone.
“They tell me at the end of life the last thing to go is your hearing,” Baker said. “So he heard them, and the last words I heard him speak was when ‘43’ called him and said, ‘Dad, I love you. I just wanted to call and tell you goodbye and tell you how much I love you.’ And ‘41’ said, ‘I love you, too.’
“And those were the last words I heard him say. He was gone in about 40 minutes after that, and it was a very gentle and peaceful passing.”
Bush was ready to go, Baker said. After his wife, Barbara, died in April, Bush was telling friends and family that he wasn’t ready to die.
“I saw him about three or four weeks ago, maybe four or five weeks ago,” Baker said. “And I said ‘Jefe’ — I was over there having a drink with him — I said ‘Jefe’, you want to live to be 100 don’t you?’
“He said, ‘Yes, I do, but I don’t think I’m going to make it.’
“What a beautiful human being.”
“I do not mistrust the future. I do not fear what is ahead. For our problems are large, but our heart is larger. Our challenges are great, but our will is greater.” – George H.W. Bush
“We are a nation of communities … a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.” – George H.W. Bush