The grandchildren of President George H.W. Bush found a fitting way to remember their “Gampy” on the week of what would have been his 100th birthday.
After the late 41st president was described as an “adrenaline junkie,” nine of Bush’s grandchildren participated in one of his pastimes in jumping out of an airplane soaring above the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum. The skydiving kicked off Thursday’s Community Day of festivities for 41@100: A Celebration of George H.W. Bush.
A former pilot in the U.S. Navy, Bush built up a tradition of skydiving on his birthday every five years. He took part in the activity on his 75th and 80th birthdays on the grounds of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Center at Texas A&M University before celebrating his 85th and 90th birthdays by skydiving at the family’s home in Maine.
“For us grandkids to come here to honor his legacy on a beautiful, clear Texas day and do something that he would have wanted to be a part of, we felt like we were, in some ways, carrying on one of his favorite birthday traditions,” grandson Pierce Bush said.