Laura Bush’s mother and the Bush twins’ grandmother has passed away.
Jenna Welch, who is the namesake of Jenna Bush Hager, died on Friday at age 99 at her home in Midland, Texas.
The Bush family took to Instagram on Sunday and posted tributes to Welch in honor of Mother’s Day
Laura Bush’s mother and the Bush twins’ grandmother, Jenna Welch, passed away aged 99 at her home in Midland, Texas, on Friday. Pictured, left to right: Jenna Bush Hager, one of Bush Hager’s daughter, Jenna Welch and Laura Bush
Former first lady Laura Bush and her daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, posted tributes on Instagram on Sunday. Pictured: Bush Hager and her twin sister Barbara at Welch’s casket
‘Waking up thinking of my precious namesake, Jenna Welch who passed away Friday,’ Bush Hager wrote to her 917,000 followers.
‘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.’
Bush Hager also expressed joy that her grandmother would be ‘reunited’ with her grandfather, Harold Welch, who died in 1995.
According to a CNN article from 2001, Welch was a bookkeeper for her husband, who was a house builder-turned-real estate developer.
The younger twin shared a gallery of photos, the first being a photo of Welch, Laura Bush, Bush Hager and one of Bush Hager’s daughters.
Bush Hager expressed joy that her grandmother would be ‘reunited’ with her grandfather, Harold Welch, who died in 1995. Pictured: Bush Hager, left, and Welch
Welch was a bookkeeper for her husband, who was a house builder-turned-real estate developer. Pictured, left to right: Former President George W Bush, Welch and Laura Bush in December 2003
Also included in the gallery are two of Bush Hager with her grandmother, Welch’s grave and she and her sister Barbara Bush Coyne by Welch’s casket.
Laura also took to Instagram to pay tribute to Welch.
‘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.’
The former first lady has often discussed how her mother encouraged reading during her childhood. Pictured: Bush Hager, right, with Welch in December 2007
The former first lady has often discussed how her mother encouraged reading during her childhood.
‘I learned [how important reading is] at home from my mother,’ she said during a speech in 2003 for The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries.
‘When I was a little girl, my mother would read stories to me. I have loved books and going to the library ever since.’
The news comes a little more than a year after Bush matriarch Barbara Bush passed away in April 2018.