Obituaries

Barbara Bush (born Barbara Pierce) was the wife of George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, who served as the 37th First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She was the mother of George W. Bush, the 43rd President, and Jeb Bush, the 43rd Governor of Florida. She served as the 33rd Second Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Former U.S. first lady Barbara Bush listens to her son, President George W. Bush, as he speaks at an event on social security reform in Orlando, Florida, March 18, 2005. REUTERS/Jason Reed Barbara Pierce was born at the old Booth Memorial Hospital in Manhattan and raised in the suburban town of Rye, New York. Her parents were Pauline (née Robinson) and Marvin Pierce, who later became president of McCall Corporation, the publisher of the popular women's magazines Redbook and McCall's. Bushes mark 70th anniversary (Politico) She grew up with two elder siblings—Martha and James—and a younger brother named Scott. Her ancestor Thomas Pierce Jr., an early New England colonist, was also an ancestor of Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States. She was a fourth cousin, four times removed, of Franklin Pierce and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. NY Daily News Pierce attended Rye Country Day School and later the boarding school Ashley Hall in Charleston, South Carolina where she graduated from. As a youth, she was athletic and enjoyed swimming, tennis, and bike riding. Her interest in reading began early in life; she recalls gathering with her family during the evenings and reading together. Former first lady, Mrs. Barbara Bush listens to her son, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, at a campaign event February 19, 2016, in Greenville, South Carolina. The South Carolina Republican primary will be held Saturday, February 20. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) - People When Pierce was 16 and on Christmas vacation, she met George Herbert Walker Bush at a dance at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he was attending school. After a year-and-a-half of dating the two became engaged, just before he went off to World War II as a Navy torpedo bomber pilot. He named three of his planes after her: Barbara, Barbara II, and Barbara III. When he returned on leave, she had dropped out of Smith College and two weeks later, on January 6, 1945, they were married. The Political Insider "I married the first man I ever kissed," Barbara once told reporters. "When I tell my children that they just about throw up." After the war ended, George Bush graduated from Yale University and the young family soon moved to Odessa, Texas, where Bush entered the oil business. They moved to several small suburbs around Los Angeles, California, before settling in Midland, Texas, in 1950. The Bushes moved some twenty-nine times during their marriage. Over time, Bush would build a business in the oil industry and found the successful Zapata Corporation. Barbara raised her children while her husband was usually away on business. In 1953, the Bushes' daughter, Robin, died of leukemia. She was just 3-years-old. Barbara Bush visits during round 2 of the 2016 Champions Tour Insperity Invitational (ABC News - Go.com) Barbara Bush’s brown hair began to gray in the 1950s while her 3-year-old daughter, Pauline, known to her family as Robin, underwent treatment for leukemia. She died in October 1953. Barbara Bush eschewed dying her hair, which ultimately turned white. She later said that dyed hair didn’t look good on her and credited the color to the public’s perception of her as “everybody’s grandmother.” Her son George said that a “crowning achievement” of his father, who was fond of coming up with nicknames for friends and family, was anointing Barbara, “The Silver Fox.” ABC News - Go.com After moving to Midland, Texas, George Bush eventually entered political life. Over the next 13 years, George and Barbara Bush had six children, including President George W. Bush, former Florida governor and GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush and Neil Bush. Wikipedia Barbara Bush’s triple-strand false pearl necklace sparked a national fashion trend when she wore them to her husband’s inauguration in 1989. The pearls became synonymous with Bush, who later said she selected them to hide the wrinkles in her neck. The candid admission only bolstered her common sense and down-to-earth public image. A version of the necklace, “the famous triple strand, hand-knotted on a gold-toned clasp,” was even available for $125 at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University. While she was First Lady of the United States, Barbara Bush worked to advance the cause of universal literacy founded the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy with the goal of improving the lives of disadvantaged Americans by boosting literacy among parents and their children. The foundation partners with local programmes and has awarded more than $40 million to create or expand more than 1,500 literacy programmes nationwide. Calling family literacy is "the most important issue we have". Along with her memoirs, she's the author of C. Fred's Story and Millie's Book based on the lives of her dogs. Proceeds from the books benefited adult and family literacy programmes. https://twitter.com/GeorgeHWBush/status/973571714528444416 Bush was known for her affection for her pet English Springer Spaniel Millie and wrote a children's book about Millie's new litter of puppies. tbeartalesnews.com She also included Millie in her official white house portrait, painted by Candace Whittemore Lovely. White House Historical Association Barbara Bush became the first U.S. First Lady to become a recipient of the Henry G. Freeman Jr. Pin Money Fund, receiving $36,000, most of which she gave to favorite charities. First Lady Barbara Bush poses with her dog Millie in 1990. (AP Photo/Spectrum News) She was struck every day by "how much things had changed" for her and her husband since becoming President and First Lady. As opposed to a limousine, Bush tried to use a smaller car and travel by train and commercial airplane for out-of-town trips. However, Bush was partially opposed in her wishes by the heads of her Secret Service detail, who agreed to the small car but did not approve to the commercial traveling given the number of threats to the First Lady being higher than that of the vice president. Despite their opposition, what put Bush most off was the fact that her flights would be delayed while agents checked out the planes and luggage. The plane Bush traveled on was nicknamed "Bright Star," in honor of the leukemia foundation her husband and Hugh Liedtke founded after her daughter Robin died. On April 15th, a family spokesperson said former first lady Barbara Bush "is in failing health and will no longer be seeking medical treatment." At 92 years old, Bush suffered for some time and had been in and out of the hospital multiple times in the last year battling Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, and congestive heart failure. Twitter In an interview with the TODAY show on Monday, anchor Jenna Bush Hager said of her grandmother: https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/985839325685403648 “She’s a fighter. She's an enforcer,” the TODAY anchor said Monday, referring to the family's nickname for the matriarch. “We’re grateful for her, for everybody’s prayers and thoughts, and just know the world is better because she’s in it.” The Today Show “We are grateful for her. She’s the best grandma anybody could have ever had — or have,” Jenna said on TODAY, quickly correcting herself. “She’s with my grandpa, the man she’s loved for over 73 years. They are surrounded by family, but I think the fact that they’re together and that he still says, ‘I love you Barbie’ every night is pretty remarkable,” she said. Former first lady Barbara Bush listens to remarks during the christening ceremony of the USS George H.W. Bush at Northrop-Grumman's shipyard in Newport News, Virginia, U.S., October 7, 2006. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo In recent years, Bush has been seen using a walker and an oxygen tank. She was briefly hospitalized last year for bronchitis. She made a vague reference to her health in a recent magazine article published in the alumnae magazine of her alma mater, Smith College. “I have had great medical care and more operations than you would believe,” she said in the brief post. “I’m not sure God will recognize me; I have so many new body parts!” Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush participates in the coin toss ahead of the start of Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons as former first lady Barbara Bush looks on in Houston, Texas, U.S., February 5, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees LatifBush also remarked on her longtime marriage to her husband in the magazine, writing: “I am still old and still in love with the man I married 72 years ago.” The Bush family matriarch chose to focus on comfort care, her office said in a statement, adding that Bush had been through a "series" of hospitalizations before making this decision. The full statement prior to her passing is below: "Following a recent series of hospitalizations and after consulting with her family and doctors, Mrs. Bush, now age 92, has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care. It will not surprise those who know her that Barbara Bush has been a rock in the face of her failing health, worrying not for herself -- thanks to her abiding faith -- but for others. She is surrounded by a family she adores, and appreciates the many kind messages and especially the prayers she is receiving." Fox 8 She was being cared for at her home in Houston and chose not to go back into the hospital. The Bushes had been married for over 73 years. Bush was the only living wife of one former President and the mother of another former President. She passed away surrounded by her family and loved ones by her side. She is survived by her loving husband of over 73 years, their six children, fourteen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A real love story: RIP... 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