During his funeral service at St Andrews Church Nairobi, members of his family said the late Senator was sensitive to the plight of individuals who crossed his path or made his acquaintance.
His son Robert Kariuki said GG as he was famously known, the national patron of the National Taekwondo Association invested in education because he had a difficult upbringing which made him drop out of school.
"After failing to continue his education due to lack of fees he was hired as a pig attendant but fired for agitating but did not give up, my father is the oldest Doctorate candidate to graduate from the University of Nairobi at the age of 78," he said.
The late politician's completed his PhD studies at the university's Institute of Diplomacy & International Studies this year.
He also had a Diploma in National Security from the Centre for Strategic Studies in Galilee, Israel.
He was a minister in the Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Moi regimes and the only MP in Kenya who served in the first Parliament.
The politician was first elected to Parliament in May 1963 and served uninterruptedly for 20 years before losing in the 1983 snap elections.
He will be buried in his Rumuruti home, Laikipia County on Friday.
Some of the government officials who attended the service include Laikipia governor, Youth CS Sicily Kariuki and Jane Kiano, wife to late minister Dr Julius Gikonyo Kiano.
-The Star: William Mwangi