A longtime friend of George Bush has painted a peaceful picture of the 41st president’s final day on earth before he passed away aged 94 surrounded by family at his home in Houston, Texas.
James A Baker III, both Bush’s friend and former secretary of state, told the New York Times that the 94-year-old had been fading over the last week – spending most of his time sleeping, not eating and never getting out of bed.
Baker said that although the former president had defied death multiple times over the years – struggling with a form of Parkinson’s and being hospitalized with pneumonia several times in recent months – this time felt different.
Baker stopped by the Bush home on Friday to check on his old friend – or perhaps to say goodbye.
He said as soon as he entered the room, Bush perked up, asking: ‘Where are we going, Bake?’
Baker answered: ‘We’re going to heaven.’
‘That’s where I want to go,’ Bush replied.
Within 13 hours, the 94-year-old was on his way.
Friends and family flocked to Bush’s bedside on Friday evening as it became clear that the end was near.
His final conversation was a speaker phone call with his son, George W. Bush, who praised him as a ‘wonderful dad’ and told him that he loved him.
“I love you, too,” the father said – his last words on earth.
Speaking with the Times in a phone interview today Baker said of Bush’s final moments: “I can’t even hardly talk about it without welling up. It was as gentle a passing as I think you could ever expect anyone to have. And he was ready.”
Bush’s body will be laid to rest at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, alongside his wife, and their daughter, Robin, who died from leukemia at the age of 3.
