Barbara Bush was the wife of former US President George H. W. Bush and was the First Lady from 1989 to 1993. She is the only woman other than Abigail Adams who was both a wife and a mother to a United States President. She passed away on 17th April 2018 at her Houston home in Texas.
The net worth of Barbara Bush is estimated to be around $25 million.
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Early Life and Education
Barbara was born into an Episcopalian family on 8th June 1925 at Manhattan’s old Booth Memorial Hospital to Pauline Pierce and Marvin Pierce. Her mother was daughter of a judge in the Ohio Supreme Court as well as chairwoman of conservation group ‘Garden Club of America.’ Her father was the president of publishing company McCall Corporation that published well-liked women’s magazines like McCall’s and Redbook. Her father was also related to Franklin Pierce, the 14th US President.
childhood picture of Barbara Bush
Bush grew up in New York’s suburban town of Rye. She was a witty and athletic child. She initially attended the Milton Public School in Rye and the Rye Country Day School and later enrolled into a boarding school ‘Ashley Hall’ located in Charleston, South Carolina.
Barbara met George HW Bush when she was 16 years old during a dance on her Christmas vacation from the boarding school. George was 17 years old at that time and studying at Phillips Academy located in Andover, Massachusetts. The two got engaged after one and half year relationship. After high school George enrolled as a combat pilot for the US Navy and fought in World War II. He and Barbara kept in touch through love letters, he called her ‘Bar’ and she called him ‘Poppy’. In 1944, Barbara dropped out from Smith College after her freshman year. She married George in Jan 1945.
Barbara Bush – Young Pictures
Early Married life
The newly married couple moved to New Haven in Connecticut and George got admission into Yale University as a freshman. In 1946, the first child George Walker Bush was born. In 1948, after graduating from Yale Bush Sr. moved his family to Texas.
In 1949, Barbara’s mother died in a car accident but she could attend her funeral as she was pregnant and doctors advised her against travelling. The Bush’s daughter Pauline Robinson Bush was born a few months later. She died in October 1953 due to leukemia. This was devastating for Barbara and caused her reddish-brown hair to turn while prematurely.
The third child of Barbara and George John Ellis “Jeb” Bush was born just before the diagnosis of Pauline. The couple had three more children; in 1955, Neil Mallon Bush, in 1956, Marvin Pierce Bush, and in 1959 Dorothy “Doro” Bush. The next twenty years of her life were spent being a mother and a wife while also doing volunteer work for organizations like United Way and YMCA.
The family then moved to Midland, Texas and settled there. Soon George climbed the ranks in the petroleum company and subsequently began his foray into Republican politics. Barbara participated in Bush’s campaigns and helped the budding political career of her husband. George got elected to Congress in 1966 and the family then moved to Washington, D.C.
Barbara Bush and George have 14 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.
Political life of Barbara Bush
President Nixon asked George to run for the U.S. Senate in Texas in 1970, but he lost. He then got appointed as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations by the President and the Bush family moved to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC. Barbara’s skill and ease at throwing parties and entertaining guests made her quite popular with dignitaries from foreign lands.
After Watergate scandal Nixon asked George to overlook the RNC/ Republican National Committee, but Barbara thought that defending Nixon could politically damage George. After Nixon’s resignation and Gerald Ford entry into the WH, George was appointed as the U.S. Liaison Office chief in China. Barbara joined her husband in his new post; this was the first time that she had travelled overseas.
Whilst in the People’s Republic of China, Barbara began studying the language and the culture. However, the family’s stint in China was cut short when Ford appointed George as the CIA/Central Intelligence Agency director in 1975. The CIA was bearing the brunt of public anger for the Vietnam War and Watergate; hence Barbara once again thought that this new post would damage the political ambitions of George. Barbara fell into depression during this period, but she did not take any medical help for it. She however gained a better understanding of mental health problems.
George began campaigning for the WH in 1979. Barbara accompanied him on his campaign trail and engaged the voters. George lost to Reagan who then appointed Bush Sr. as his vice-presidential nominee. They Republicans won the WH in 1980 by a landslide margin.
As the US Vice President’s wife, Barbara travelled extensively and represented her country’s interests overseas. She built great relationships with the foreign heads of several states. During this period, she became very popular and she used it to support varied causes. As her son Neil was dyslexic, literacy was a cause that was very close to her heart. She learnt about adult and child illiteracy and actively worked with different organizations that advocated this cause.
Barbara Bush: As the First Lady and Beyond
After 8 years as a Vice President, George began his second campaign for the White House. He defeated Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis and was sworn in as the 41st US President in Jan 1989.
Barbara, the First Lady, did not give much importance to fashion as compared to the very fashionable Nancy Reagan. She even wore shoes costing just $30 to the inaugural ball of her husband. She used to wear several faux beads strands around her neck. Most of her wardrobe was designed by well known designer Arnold Scaasi and she trusted him as he comprehended her pragmatic style. Barbara also did not meddle in the policy decisions of the WH and did not publicly state any of her political views.
In 1989, Barbara was diagnosed with a thyroid gland malfunction condition called Graves’ disease. This caused her eyes to become puffy and red. She underwent radiation therapy to alleviate the symptoms. Her ailment however did not prevent the first lady from being fully committed to her duties to the public. She launched the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, a literacy organization that offered support to different groups across the US which taught reading techniques and skills to children as well as parents. She even wrote a book called ‘Millie’s Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush’ and it helped raise almost 1 million dollars for different literacy plans.
During the Bush Presidency, the Cold War ended, international turmoil ended, dictator Manuel Noriega was arrested after US invasion of Panama, and the Gulf War began after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. The President and the First Lady spent the Thanksgiving of 1990 in Saudi Arabia visiting the thousands of US troops that were serving in the Gulf War. This help increase the popularity of Bush; but in 1992, there was an economic slump and so did support for the Bush presidency. In the Presidential elections of 1992, Bill Clinton defeated Bush Sr. Barbara and her family then moved back to Texas.
After leaving the WH, Barbara went back into public service and raised millions for literacy programs, served for AmeriCares as an ambassador-at-large, and actively participated in the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She also spent additional time with her family. In 1998, her son George W became the governor of Texas for the second time and her other son Jeb became Florida’s governor.
Barbara offered support to George when he successfully ran for the WH in 2000. She also supported Mitt Romney in 2012 and her son Jeb during the 2016 Republican presidential primaries.
Latest Pictures of Barbara Bush
Death
Barbara was admitted to hospital on 18th Jan, 2017 after suffering from coughing and fatigue. She was discharged 5 days later. She and George then attended the Super Bowl LI played at NRG Stadium. The crowd cheered the couple when George performed the coin toss.
From this period onwards, Barbara suffered from varied ailments like COPD, congestive heart failure, etc and continued receiving treatments. On 15th April, 2018, the former president’s office stated that Barbara would stop received medical care and instead stay with family at home and get ‘comfort care.’
On the evening of 17th April 2018, Barbara Bush passed away at age 92. This was confirmed by the tweet of George W. Bush:
“My dear mother has passed away at the age of 92. Laura, Barbara, Jenna and I are sad, but our souls are settled because we know hers was… 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.”
He later issued a statement:
“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.”
Condolence messages were sent by President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and other former presidents including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
The funeral of Barbara Bush will be held on April 21, 2018 in Houston at the St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. The burial will be at the George Bush Presidential Library located in College Station, Texas.