By Ken Stickney

ken.stickney@panews.com

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, grandson of the 41^st president, called his grandfather “the greatest man I ever knew.”

In a statement made on Facebook shortly after the president’s death, the younger Bush posted photos of himself as a boy accompanying his beloved grandfather, President George H.W. Bush, and wrote:

“My grandfather was the greatest man I ever knew. His life spanned the American Century — he fought in World War II … took part in the Texas oil boom … served out a distinguished career in public service including serving as president during the final days of the Cold War.

“Along the way, he married the love of his life and was a father to six, including a president and two governors.

“But to me, he will always be Gampy. The man who taught me to fish in Maine, to throw a horseshoe and to swing a baseball bat lefty. He was more than a great man; he was a good man. His courage was matched by his compassion; and his dedication to country was equaled only by his devotion to his family.

“Gampy, we love you and we will miss you. But we will never forget you.”

The land commissioner is the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and bears both the name of his grandfather and presidential uncle but also his middle name, Prescott, is that of his great grandfather, the 41^st president’s father, a former U.S. senator.

As a 12-year-old, the George P. Bush spoke before the 1988 Republican National Convention in favor of his grandfather’s nomination for president. He also spoke on his grandfather’s behalf when the elder Bush sought renomination for president at the 1992 Republican National Convention.

Shortly after his own election, President Bush sent his son, Jeb, and grandson to the Soviet Republic of Armenia after a devastating earthquake there. Presidential biographer Timothy Naftali referred to that diplomatic journey by Jeb and the young George P. Bush as an example of the 41^st president’s “personal touch,” typical of his diplomacy.