Married life

They met at a Christmas dance. She was 16. He was 17.

Three years later they were married. The couple stayed together for 73 years, becoming the longest-married couple in presidential history.

“George Bush knows how I feel,” Barbara Bush had said. “He is the hero … He is my hero.”

Former first lady Barbara Bush died Tuesday at the age of 92. George H.W. Bush was at his wife’s side when she died and had been holding her hand all day, according to Jean Becker, chief of staff at the former president’s office in Houston.

The couple’s relationship was a true love story, which granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager described Monday as “remarkable.”

The former president “still says, ‘I love you Barbie’ every night,” Hager said on NBC’s “Today”, where she works. They had six children, including Hager’s father, former president George W. Bush, making Barbara Bush one of only two first ladies to also be a presidential mother. The other was Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, the nation’s second president, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president.

George H.W. Bush, 93, has described the mother of their six children as “the mainstay, of course, the parent who was always there to help solve the daily problems and emergencies of teen and preteen life.”

In her 1994 memoir, Barbara Bush describes her and her husband as “the two luckiest people in the world, and when all the dust is settled and all the crowds are gone, the things that matter are faith, family and friends. We have been inordinately blessed, and we know that.”

The former president was a naval aviator in training when they met.

“I’m not much at recalling what people wear, but that particular occasion stands out in my memory,” he says in his autobiography.

The band was playing Glenn Miller tunes and he asked a friend from Rye, New York, if he knew the girl across the room in the green and red holiday dress. The friend introduced him to Barbara Pierce, a publisher’s daughter from Rye who was going to

Reactions

Here is some reactions to the death of former first lady Barbara Bush, whom a family spokesman says died Tuesday:

“My dear mother has passed on at age 92. Laura, Barbara, Jenna, and I are sad, but our souls are settled because we know hers was. Barbara Bush was a fabulous First Lady and a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love, and literacy to millions. To us, she was so much more. Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end. I’m a lucky man that Barbara Bush was my mother. Our family will miss her dearly, and we thank you all for your prayers and good wishes.” — Statement from her son, former president George W. Bush.

“Columba and I join every member of the Bush family in offering our sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love and support for my Mom in recent days, and throughout her remarkable life. I’m exceptionally privileged to be the son of George Bush and the exceptionally gracious, gregarious, fun, funny, loving, tough, smart, graceful woman who was the force of nature known as Barbara Bush. Thank you for your prayers, and we look forward to celebrating and honoring her life and contributions to our family and great nation in the coming days.”— Statement from her son, former Florida Gov Jeb Bush.

“President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump join the nation in celebrating the life of Barbara Bush. As a wife, mother, grandmother, military spouse and former first lady, Mrs Bush was an advocate of the American family. Amongst her greatest achievements was recognizing 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. The president and first lady’s thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Mrs Bush.” — Statement from President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

“Barbara Bush was a remarkable woman. She had grit and grace, brains and beauty. She was fierce and feisty in support of her family and friends, her country and her causes. She showed us what an honest, vibrant, full life looks like. Hillary and I