Grandmother of America, Barbara Bush is dead at 92
She was the matriarch of a political dynasty, a woman who was both wife and mother to a US President.
But following her death aged 92, former First Lady Barbara Bush was remembered yesterday for her own contribution – as a campaigner driven to improve lives during her time in the White house and beyond.
The ‘rock’ at the centre of the Bush clan died at her home in houston, Texas, on Tuesday. She had been in poor health for some time and had declined further hospital treatment for congestive heart failure. Instead she wanted to spend her last days with her family.
Feisty, modest and often painfully frank, Mrs Bush was invariably more popular than her husband or son.
She earned praise for redefining the role of First Lady and recognising it could carry considerable power. her image as a soft-hearted, silver-haired old lady belied a shrewd and steely personality, and a determination to speak out.
In later life, she earned the nickname of America’s Grandmother, although insiders said in private she was hard as nails and could be terrifying.
She could be withering about others, particularly those who attacked her family. When asked what she thought of Democrat Geraldine Ferraro after she appeared in a campaign debate against her husband in 1984, she famously said: ‘It rhymes with rich.’
Mrs Bush was devoted to improving literacy, a cause she championed long after she left the White house. She was also an early supporter of civil rights, and – unlike her husband – supported legal abortion and opposed the sale of assault weapons.
Officials said her husband of 73 years held her hand all day and was by her side when she died. Mr Bush Sr, 93, suffers from a debilitating Parkinson’s - like disease that makes speech difficult. ‘he, of course, is broken-hearted to lose his beloved Barbara,’ said a spokesman.
her marriage to George HW, who served from 1989 to 1993, is the longest presidential marriage in history. Barbara Pierce was 16 when she met her future husband at a Christmas dance. They married in 1945 and had six children, although their second child, Robin, died of leukaemia aged three. Mrs Bush said that was when her hair turned white.
Many said the First Lady looked older than her husband but she made no apologies for her matronly image, saying ‘I’m not going to turn into a glamorous princess’. her son George W Bush said yesterday the family were sad at her Leaders: With her husband and son passing ‘but our souls are settled because we know hers was’.
he said his mother had ‘kept us on our toes and ... laughing until the end’. ‘You want to know why George W is the way he is?’ he recounted her saying to her doctor. ‘Because I drank and smoke while I was pregnant with him.’
he added: ‘I’m a lucky man that Barbara Bush was my mother. Our family will miss her dearly.’ his brother Jeb – a governor of Florida who ran for the White house in 2016 – described their mother as a ‘force of nature’.
Barack and Michelle Obama paid tribute to Mrs Bush as ‘the rock of a family dedicated to public service’.
Donald Trump hailed her as an ‘advocate of the American family’ and ordered that US flags fly at half-mast in her honour on Saturday, when her funeral will take place. The White house said Melania Trump, continuing a First Lady tradition, will attend.