AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Tributes are pouring in for former President George H.W. Bush, who died Nov. 30, 2018 at the age of 94.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued the following statement:
“The state of Texas mourns with the nation at the passing of one of our greatest Presidents. George H.W. Bush was an American hero and icon, he was a friend to all he met, he embodied class and dignity. Texans are genuinely honored that he called the Lone Star State home and we collectively grieve this monumental loss. On behalf of Texas, Cecilia and I offer our thoughts and prayers to the Bush family in their time of need.”
Abbott shared a photo of his family with the former First Couple at a football game between Texas A&M and Texas.
Saturday morning from a meeting with world leaders in Buenos Aires, Pres. Donald Trump told reporters the 41st president was a “very fine man.”
“I met him on a number of occasions,” Mr. Trump told reporters. He said he called former President George W. Bush and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida to offer condolences. He also issued a formal statement posted to Twitter.
“He was a terrific guy, and he’ll be missed,” Mr. Trump said. “He lived a full life and an exemplary life.”
Bush 43 shared a statement late Friday night.
“Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died. 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.”
Former President Barack Obama, said the country had “lost a patriot and humble servant.”
Former Lubbock Congressman Kent Hance tweeted a message as the news broke Friday night.
“What a career! He was a gentleman and statesman at all times. Proud to be his friend,” Hance said in part.
Hance also shared a photo of when then-Vice President Bush came to Lubbock to speak to the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce.
Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz both issued statements as well.
“His uncompromising service to Texas and this nation can never be duplicated or fully quantified, but his impact is unmistakable and his legacy everlasting,” Cornyn said in part.
Cruz tweeted that Bush’s time as Vice President “prepared him well for the heavy burdens of that highest office, steering our nation through the fall of the Berlin Wall and the First Gulf War.”
State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, posted a photo from his service days, with the President.
“Godspeed,” Landgraf said. “He was a great president, a public servant in the truest sense of the term, and a good and decent man, regardless of the circumstances.”
Bush will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda Wednesday. He will be buried in College Station, Texas, behind the site of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, alongside his wife, Barbara, and their daughter, Robin, who died of leukemia at the age of 3.
See more tributes to the 41st President on Twitter, and read more about the life of George H.W. Bush by clicking here.
