DrMantisToboggan

December 1st, 2018 at 12:02 AM ^

Decorated pilot shot down during WWII

UN Ambassador

CIA Director

Vice President

President

Father of a President

A legendary American. I hope that he's with Barbara now, and that his family can find peace in this time.

GBOD79

December 1st, 2018 at 8:38 PM ^

Yes, so decent that he manufactured a drug deal to get support for the incarceration of thousands, took money out of HIV/AIDS treatment during the height of the epidemic, and allowed the murder and torture of the Kurds in Iraq. 

Let's not sugarcoat his legacy just because the man died. 

JetFuelForBreakfast

December 1st, 2018 at 12:47 AM ^

Agreed.  My grandfather slept nearly 6 decades under the dress dagger of the commandant of Dachau, and when he wrote 41 in appreciation of 41 taking his family on a tour of the allied operations in the Mediterranean and Euripe, 41 took the time to write a very personal note back.  

Regardless of politics or positions that any of us may or may not have agreed with, 41 was a class act.  God Bless and Godspeed!!!

I'm Batman

December 1st, 2018 at 12:08 AM ^

He played in the first ever College Baseball World Series at Hyames Field on the Campus of Western Michigan in 1947. 

I figured it wouldn't be long after Barbara went. I worked in the funeral industry for seven years. Couples who have spent most of their long life together almost always go close together. 

1VaBlue1

December 1st, 2018 at 8:53 AM ^

My grandparents were together for over 60 years when my grandfather died.  We all thought grandma would go shortly after, but she held on for almost another 15 years.  Alzheimers robbed her of all memory, or she'd have never lasted on her own.  He took care of her until he was physically unable, and she was so far gone that she regularly called the police because a strange man was in her bedroom.

I'm a firm believer that memory has a say in the will to live.

Chaco

December 1st, 2018 at 7:08 AM ^

Dana Carvey has done a pretty well known impression of GHWB - and that ended up with Carvey meeting the President.  According to Carvey, while they were meeting GHWB had Carvey do his impersonation to summon the secret service into the room (door open/around the corner kind of thing) to see if it could fool them.  Carvey did it, and the secret service did in fact come in the room which GHWB thought was the funniest thing in the world.

Ryno2317

December 1st, 2018 at 1:06 AM ^

He was a great man.  He was the youngest naval pilot in WWII and immediately went back into service upon being rescued.  Go read the letter he left for President Clinton in the Oval Ofice and that will tell you everything you need to know about his character.  He will be greatly missed.

tybert

December 1st, 2018 at 1:39 AM ^

The GREATEST generation - I was privileged to be a child of those who lived through the Great Depression and WWII before they had a chance to graduate from college.

BRAVO to all who are grateful descendants of this generation!

crg

December 1st, 2018 at 3:58 AM ^

Inspiring life story of service to one's country, regardless of political affiliation.  Thoughts and prayers for him and his lived ones.  He will be missed.

Roanman

December 1st, 2018 at 6:47 AM ^

Absolutely the only American citizen of a certain age that "can't remember" where he was when Kennedy was killed.

The world is a better place.

bronxblue

December 1st, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^

I'd counter  that deification of Bush here by some betrays a very particular world view that is just as myopic and idiotic as the sentiment you are decrying here.  Bush was a consumate statesman and cared about his country deeply; he was also a deeply flawed and complex human being.  I'm not going to crap on his life, but I also find these threads a little weird because, especially for Presidents and other individuals in power, they aren't ever purely great or bad.