he was your best friend and you were his. and he pulled it off with charm and humility and humor with few, if any, rivals. so however you do it today, whether through quiet meditation or tearful remembrance or jubilant story give thanks his life brushed up against yours. goodbye, thank you, but there is one more thing we come to do and that is to lift up our lives to hope. what do i mean by that? well, president bush was a man of faith, a faith that sustained him in this life and now has brought him new life. the president and barbara bush were devoted and active members of this church, st. martin s, for over 50 years. in a talk the president gave here in 1982 he spoke of his love for st. martin s, his memories of teaching sunday school and serving coffee and
resurrection and the life. those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. do you believe this? she said to him yes, lord. i believe that you are the messiah, the son of god, the one coming into the world. the gospel of the lord.
of light, the barbara bush foundation for family literacy, and countless other charities is a model for all former first families, past, present, and future. to these virtues we can add one more source of his character, his family. as a friend once put it, george bush believed that family is a source of both personal strength and the values one needs to face life. and of course history has shown that few families have accomplished as much as his has. barbara wrote the book on how to be a great first lady. his legacy lives on with his children who have contributed so very much to making our nation great, and who knows what the future will bring for his grandchildren and their
they will certainly include this, that the fulfillment of a complete life cannot be achieved without service to others. you should know that my grandfather was thankful for his god. he once told us grandkids god is good but his love has a cost. we must be good to one another. it was his faith, his love for others that fulfilled him, that drove him, that led him to a life of public service. here in houston at a prayer breakfast he once reflected on his time on the deck of the submarine which rescued him after he was shot down during world war ii. to get some fresh air he went on the deck, stood the watch, looked out in the dark. he said the sky was clear, the stars were brilliant, like a blizzard of fire flies in the night. there was a calm inner peace. halfway around the world in a war zone, a calm inner peace. god s therapy. today after 94 years the heavy
there is more to say than time permits, and anyway, when measured against the eloquence of george bush s character and life, our words are very inadequate. and so i conclude these remarks with his words written some years ago to his old tennis buddy. we have known each other a long time, he wrote to me, we have shared joy and sadness, and time has indeed gone swiftly by. now it races on even faster, and that makes me treasure even more this line of william butler yates about where man s glory begins and ends, namely with friends. my glory is i have you as such a friend. to which i reply on behalf of his friends here today across america and throughout the world