George HW Bush’s Sister, Nancy Bush Ellis, Dies From COVID-19 Complications

Creative rendition of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles. Note: not to scale. (NIAID [shorturl.at/hHKWY])

Nancy Bush Ellis, the sister of former President George HW Bush, died on Jan. 10 at the age of 94 due to complications related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a family member said.

Her son, Alexander Ellis, said Sunday that she was first hospitalized on Dec. 30 with a fever before she tested positive for the disease. Ellis, the aunt of former President George W. Bush, died at an assisted living facility in Concord, Massachusetts, he told The New York Times.

Although the 94-year-old’s COVID-19 symptoms disappeared within days, her general health failed to improve, he said.

“We are sad to share that President Bush’s beloved sister, Nancy Bush Ellis, has passed away. Our condolences and prayers are with the Ellis and Bush families as we remember a remarkable woman who brought joy and light to the world,” the George & Barbara Bush Foundation wrote in a statement.

Ellis, an environmentalist, was hugely supportive of both her brother and nephew despite being a Democrat for years and serving as the head of the New England section of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, her son said.

“She was a wonderfully energetic campaigner and cheerleader for her brother” after George H.W. Bush announced his 1979 presidential run, Alexander told the NY Times.

“She was a Democrat for whom family came first,” Jon Meacham, the official biographer for the 41st president, told the news outlet.

“She’s a part of this great American ethos that’s almost entirely gone,” Meacham added. “She was the best kind of aristocrat. There was a sense of service without a shred of snobbery.”

Born in Milton, Massachusetts, on Feb. 4, 1926, Ellis graduated from Vassar College in 1946. She is survived by her 89-year-old brother, Jonathan James Bush, 89, her three sons: Alexander, John Prescott Ellis, and Josiah Wear Ellis; her daughter, Nancy Walker Ellis Black; as well as nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Her husband, Alexander Ellis Jr., died aged 67 in 1989.

Medical professionals have been told by national health authorities to make sure to report COVID-19 on the death certificate for victims if the disease is determined to be the cause of death. There are different sections on the death certificate for the immediate cause of death, and the conditions that led to the immediate cause of death.

Most deaths among people who test positive for COVID-19 come from the elderly. The vast majority of patients survive.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, difficulty breathing, and vomiting. People with severe symptoms, such as an inability to stay awake and persistent pain in the chest, should immediately seek emergency medical care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.