Prescott Bush, Brother, Uncle to Presidents, Dies

Prescott S. Bush Jr., brother to one U.S. president and uncle to another, has died after a long illness, according to his family. He was 87.

A retired insurance executive, Bush died on Wednesday in Hingham, Mass., a spokeswoman for Keohane Funeral Home said. He had moved there from Greenwich, Conn., about three years ago.

Bush was the brother of former President George H.W. Bush and the uncle of former president George W. Bush.

Prescott Bush "loved life, family and friends and lived with a spirit of abundance," the statement read.

Bush was born in Portland, Maine, and grew up in Greenwich, Conn., later returning to live in Greenwich. He attended Phillips Academy Andover and Yale University.

Bush was active in Connecticut politics as an advisor, campaign manager and fundraiser to Republican candidates and in 1982 was briefly a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat his father, Prescott Bush, held for two terms.

After graduating Yale in 1944, Bush lived in Brazil, where he helped Pan American Airways build and operate airfields. He returned to the U.S. in 1949 to take a job with Pan Am in New York City and later went to work for the Wall Street insurance brokerage firm Johnson & Higgins, where he became a partner.

After retirement, he founded the United States-China Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit organization that encourages U.S.-China trade and investment.

"Above all else, he was a devoted family man whose philanthropy started at home," according to the statement released by his family.

Bush leaves his wife of 66 years, Elizabeth, his son James Bush and daughter Kelsey Bush-Nadeau, and six grandchildren.

A memorial service was scheduled for June 30 at Christ Church Greenwich.