The Bush family is in mourning this week after Jenna Welch, the mother of former First Lady Laura Bush, passed away on Friday at her home in Midland, Texas. She was 99 years-old.
The Bush family revealed her death on Sunday, when they took to social media to honor her. Welch’s granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager, who was named after her, was one of the first to honor her on Instagram.
“Waking up thinking of my precious namesake, Jenna Welch who passed away Friday,” the “Today” host wrote. “How lucky I was to be named after a woman who taught me how to slow down and appreciate every bird, and every plant in West Texas. She read us poetry and taught us about every constellation in the sky. Her kindness and graciousness were as expansive as the West Texas horizon.”
She went on to say that while she will miss her grandmother, she takes comfort in the fact that she has been reunited with her husband Harold Welch, who died in 1995.
Laura also wrote a tribute to her mother on Instagram, making it clear that she will be dearly missed.
“This Mother’s Day, I’m remembering my mother, who passed away at the age of 99 on Friday morning,” she wrote. “Jenna Hawkins Welch was a true daughter of West Texas who loved her family, books, and nature. My memories of reading with her and stargazing under the Midland sky are reminders of the passions that she nurtured in me. Our family is grateful for her long and wonderful life. We miss her dearly.”
This comes two months after the death of George H.W. Bush and just over a year after Barbara Bush passed away, which means that this family has lost three of their most beloved members in a short period of time. Please keep the Bush family in your thoughts and prayers, and may you rest in peace, Jenna Welch.
Watch Bush Hager honor her grandmother in the video below.
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