The legacy of george h. W. Bush, 41st president

“Today we grieve the loss of a lifelong public servant,” Jenkins said. “We remember President Bush for signing into law two bills that greatly improved older Americans’ lives: the Americans

with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, which he signed the same year to strengthen the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.” Jenkins

said, “President Bush fought ageism in another way, too: as he turned 75, 80, 85 and then 90, he marked milestone birthdays by skydiving. His first parachute jump wasn’t by choice, as it

resulted from his fighter plane being shot down in World War II, but his later-in-life jumps showed his passion for life. “ Just four years ago, at 90, Bush took the last of those four

birthday skydiving jumps. He was taken from a wheelchair to a helicopter before his 6,000-foot leap. “I think it sends a message around the country that, just because you’re 80, doesn’t mean

you can’t do fun stuff or interesting things,’’ he told broadcaster Larry King. “You can. And I am.’’ Bush’s estimable public record included serving as a decorated World War II Navy pilot,

U.S. congressman, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, ambassador to China, and two-term vice president for President Ronald Reagan. Bush presided over multiple conflicts, including

the Persian Gulf War and a short-lived skirmish against Panama. Former President George H.W. Bush celebrates his 75th birthday skydiving with the U.S. Army Golden Knights. Getty Images

During his one-term presidency from 1989-1993, Bush served in the White House during the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the breakup of Eastern

Europe’s communist bloc. Retired Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bush, remembered his boss as a “superb commander in chief.’’ “He was very, very deliberate in

his thinking, knowing that we were sending young men and women to war, and (that) some lives would be lost,’’ Powell told CNN on Saturday. National tributes paying respect to Bush’s humble

service, forbearance and demeanor were immediate. Known as a collector of friends, he was remembered for reaching across the aisle to political opponents as he preached a “kinder, gentler

nation.’’