Barbara Bush, the widely admired wife of one president and the fiercely loyal mother of another, died Tuesday evening at her home in Houston. She was 92.
On Sunday, the office of her husband, former President George Bush, issued a statement saying that after consulting her family and her doctors, Mrs. Bush had “decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care.”
The Bushes had celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in January, making them the longest-married couple in presidential history.
Mrs. Bush had been hospitalised with pneumonia in December 2013. She underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer in 2008 and had heart surgery four months later.
Former President George W. Bush wrote in a statement “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.”
President Trump took to Twitter to offer a statement on Barbara’s passing, writing “Mrs. Bush was an advocate of the American family”.
Former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued the following statement of condolence:
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 mourn her passing and bless her memory.
We will never forget the courtesy and kindness she and President Bush showed us, starting when I was governor in 1983. I’ll always treasure my summer visits to Kennebunkport. Barbara joked that George and I spent so much time together I had become almost a member of the family, the “black sheep” that had gone astray.
Our hearts and prayers go out to President Bush; to George, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and to the entire Bush family she loved so much. We know that through them her remarkable strength, warmth and wit, and her devotion to our country will live on.
