Farewell to a FIRST LADY
The matriarch of a true US political dynasty, Barbara Bush was a powerful female force throughout American politics. But after suffering from congestive heart failure, the former First Lady died last week at the age of 92.
As only the second woman in US history to be the wife and mother of two US presidents – her husband George H.W. Bush (93) and son George W. Bush (71) – Barbara was frequently on the political campaign trail for her husband and son, often working as their spokesperson or chief of staff. As well as being a fierce campaigner for families and for privacy, she
used her position as First Lady to advocate for literacy, raising more than $110 million for family literacy programmes.
Barbara will also be remembered for speaking her mind and her quick wit.
In a university commencement speech in 1990, she told the crowd, “Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps and preside over the White House as the president’s spouse.”
She ended her address with an “I wish him well!“
Married to George H.W. for 73 years, longer than any presidential couple in history, Barbara said last year, “I am still old and still in love with the man I married 72
years ago.”