BARBARA BUSH DIES AT 92
FORMER first lady Barbara Bush died on Tuesday at the age of 92, triggering an outpouring of praise for the matriarch of a Republican family once at the apex of American politics.
Barbara and George H.W. Bush were married for 73 years, and the widower “is heartbroken to lose his beloved Barbara”, his chief of staff, Jean Becker, said.
“He held her hand all day today and was at her side when (she) left this good Earth.”
The ex-president, who is 93 and has been in ill health in recent years, was “determined to be there” for his family while in mourning, Becker added.
Funeral arrangements were due to be announced soon for Barbara, who was also survived by five of her children and their spouses, 17 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and her brother, Scott Pierce.
She was preceded in death by her second child, Robin, who died of leukaemia as a toddler.
In honour of Barbara’s life, President Donald Trump ordered that the US flag be flown at half-staff until sundown on the day she is buried, at all public buildings and grounds, as well as military posts and vessels.
Barbara has long been considered the rock at the centre of one of America’s most prominent political families, as the wife of a president and the mother to another — George W. Bush — and to Jeb Bush, former Florida governor and onetime presidential aspirant.
She first met her husband-to-be at the age of 16 when she was a schoolgirl and he was a student at an elite preparatory school in Massachusetts. They married in 1945 while he was on leave from wartime service as a naval officer.
As first lady, from 1989 to 1993, she embraced the cause of universal literacy and founded a foundation for family literacy.
Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum.
Trump hailed her as an “advocate of the American family”.
“Among her greatest achievements was recognising the importance of literacy as a fundamental family value that requires nurturing and protection.
“She will be long remembered for her strong devotion to country and family, both of which she served unfailingly well.”
Orrin Hatch, America’s longest-serving Republican senator, said: “Barbara inspired us to be the best version of ourselves.”
Former Democratic president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, said: “We’ll always be grateful to Mrs Bush for the generosity she showed us throughout our time in the White House.
“But we’re even more grateful for the way she lived her life as a testament to the fact that public service is an important and noble calling.
“She is an example of the humility and decency that reflects the very best of the American spirit.”
Madeleine Albright, who under Democratic president Bill Clinton was the first woman to serve as secretary of state, remembered Barbara as a “woman of incredible determination, wit and compassion who embodied America’s best values”.
Barbara gained a reputation for toughness, wry humour and straight-speaking.
“She was smart, generous, kind and a force to be reckoned with,” said House Republican Steve Pearce.
Senator John McCain, who is battling cancer, recalled that “Barbara understood that the greatest joy in life comes from putting the needs of others before yourself ”.