George H.W. Bush's final day filled with friends, family, familiar song
by Claude Thompson
| December 01, 2018 05:55 PM
An Irish tenor who sang for George H.W. Bush's 80th birthday visited the former president Friday, filling Bush's final day with familiar songs.
Ronan Tynan, a double-amputee professional singer and a physician for orthopedic sports injuries, has performed at five different presidential events. All of those, which included Bush's birthday and Ronald Reagan's state funeral, were attended by George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States.
According to the New York Times, Tynan, a member of the Irish Tenors, had called early Friday and asked if it was all right if he could stop by. Later that day, he was by Bush's side, singing him "Silent Night" and a Gaelic tune. Bush's former secretary of state, James A. Baker III, said that Bush was mouthing the words to "Silent Night" along with Tynan.
Tynan had both of his legs amputated at the knee when he was 20 years old to better allow for the use of prosthetics following a back injury due to a vehicle accident. He went on to win 18 medals at the Summer Paralympics in the 1980s.
Tynan was also invited to Bush's 90th birthday, the date of Bush's final skydive.
The 41st president spent his last days in the companionship of Baker, who was there for the turning points of Bush's health. Bush had reportedly stopped eating and was rapidly losing weight as of Thursday.
Baker checked on Bush multiple times on Friday, including a promising meal and encouraging energy throughout the day, before Bush's health took a turn for the worse on Friday evening.
"Everybody thought this is going to be a great day and he's back and he's bounced back again," Baker said. "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 last words were to his namesake son, who proclaimed that the elder Bush had been a "wonderful dad" and that he loved him. "I love you, too," George H. W. Bush said to his son. Baker was with the former president until 10:10 p.m., the moment of his passing.
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