The Patriot Post® · Barbara Bush, RIP

Former First Lady Barbara Bush died yesterday at age 92. She and Abigail Adams were the only two women to be both wife and mother of U.S. presidents, and Barbara was more than fiery enough to be up to the task.

The office of former President George H.W. Bush issued a statement: “A former First Lady of the United States of America and relentless proponent of family literacy, Barbara Pierce Bush passed away Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at the age of 92. She is survived by her husband of 73 years, President George H. W. Bush; five children and their spouses; 17 grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; and her brother, Scott Pierce. She was preceded in death by her second child, Pauline Robinson ‘Robin’ Bush, and her siblings Martha Rafferty and James R. Pierce.”

Former President George W. Bush called his mother “a fabulous First Lady and a woman unlike any other.” He also said, “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.”

The Bushes were famously close, marrying just four months after George was shot down over the Pacific in 1944. In their only surviving love letter, dated Dec. 12, 1943, George wrote, “I love you, precious, with all my heart and to know that you love me means my life. How often I have thought about the immeasurable joy that will be ours someday. How lucky our children will be to have a mother like you.”

Of her husband, Barbara once said, “I married the first man I ever kissed. When I tell my children that, they just about throw up.”

Erick Erickson called her “a real family patriot, fiercely loyal and fiercely proud and fiercely devoted.” Dan McLaughlin said she “always lived” by her values: “love of country, devotion to family, loyalty to those who are loyal in return, and an obligation to public service.”

Finally, Barbara Bush herself offered some words of wisdom that all of us — from the youngest employee to the president — should heed: “At the end of your life you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child or a parent.”

Rest in Peace.