Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the forty-first American President George W. Bush, the mother of George W. Bush, who became the head of the country four years after his father, and Jeb Bush, who served as governor of Florida.
Years of youth
Barbara Bush was born in a New York maternity hospital on June 8, 1925. Her mother's name was Pauline Robinson (1896-1949) and her father's name was Marvin Pierce (1893-1969). Her mother died in a car accident when Barbara was still very young. Barbara's father's ancestor, Thomas Pierce, was one of the first colonists in New England, as well as the ancestor of Franklin Pierce, who became the 14th President of the United States. Thus, Barbara is the niece of Franklin Pierce through four generations.
Barbara Bush's early childhood was spent in a village called Rye, New York. She also went to elementary school there. Later, the girl continued her education at the Ashley Hall closed private school in Charleston, South Carolina.
Family
Barbara Bush was a very attractive girl in her youth. She met withher future husband, George, at the Christmas ball. She was only sixteen years old at the time, and the future president was studying at the Phillips Military Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Shortly before Bush left to fight in World War II, they became engaged. George Herbert Walker Bush was a US Navy torpedo bomber pilot. He named all his aircraft in honor of the bride: Barbara, Barbara-2 and Barbara-3. In December 1944, George came home on leave. Half a month later, on January 6, 1945, they got married. After the war, Bush graduated from Yale University, then the couple moved to the Texas Midland. In 1953, their daughter Robin died of leukemia. This loss seriously affected Mrs. Bush's he alth, which caused her to turn gray very early. April 13, 2013 Barbara Bush, whose children have long grown up, became a great-grandmother - her granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager gave birth to a daughter.
Children
The Bush couple gave life to six:
- George W. Bush, who was born on July 6, 1946 and later became the 43rd President of the United States, as well as the Governor of Texas.
- Paulin Robinson Bush, commonly known as Robin, was born December 20, 1949 and died of leukemia on October 11, 1953.
- John Ellis Bush, better known as Jeb, was born February 11, 1953, is the 43rd Governor of Florida.
- Neil Mallon Bush, saw the light of day January 22, 1955; entrepreneur.
- Marvin Pierce Bush, born October 22, 1956, alsorunning his own business.
- Dorothy Bush Koch, youngest daughter, born August 18, 1959, engaged in social and charitable activities.
Private life
During the years of their life together, the Bush family moved 29 times from place to place. George Bush Sr. was successful in business and became the founder of the Zapata Corporation. He held many different positions in the government. Bush Sr. became the 41st American President in 1989, a position he held until 1993.
First Lady
Barbara Bush was the American First Lady from 1989 to 1993, when her husband served as President of the United States. She performed flawlessly in this role. Her main task, she called the fight against illiteracy among adult immigrants and representatives of other sectors of American society. Barbara Bush actively participated in the work of various charitable organizations and foundations. White House staff say she was the most welcoming and benevolent First Lady they have ever worked with. Due to her kindness and non-conflict, she was also more popular among Americans than her predecessor, Nancy Reagan, and successor, Hillary Clinton.
After the White House
After the end of the presidential term of George W. Bush Sr., the couple moved to permanent residence in Houston, Texas.
March 18, 2003, two days before the invasionAmerican troops in Iraq under President George W. Bush, journalists from the Good Morning America program on ABC asked Barbara to talk about what TV shows her family watches. She replied:
"I don't watch TV at all. He [former President George Herbert Walker Bush] sits and listens, and I read books, because I know very well that 90 percent of what we hear on the news on TV is just only speculation. And he does not understand my sensitivity in this matter. But why should we hear about coffins and corpses, about when it happened, and about the number of dead, and all the details of the incident and your assumptions about this? I have in mind that this information is redundant. So why should I bother myself with such things and suffer from it?"
In 2006, it was revealed that Barbara Bush had donated some money to the Katrina Foundation on the condition that the donation was credited to an educational software company owned by Neil Bush.
In November 2008, Barbara was hospitalized with abdominal pain. On November 25, surgeons discovered an ulcer the size of a 1 cent coin in Mrs. Bush's intestines. She underwent treatment and was discharged on December 2, 2008, the doctors' forecasts were quite optimistic.
A few months later, on March 4, 2009, Barbara had a successful aortic valve replacement.
December 31, 2013, Mrs. Bush was admitted to the Methodist Hospital in Houston due tolabored breathing. Doctors determined Barbara's condition to be stable and allowed family members to visit her. The former first lady of the United States went to the same hospital in 2008 for treatment of an ulcer, and in 2010 she returned there for a routine examination. On January 4, 2014, she was discharged from the hospital, and journalists were told that the cause of hospitalization was pneumonia. Barbara is reported to have said, "I don't have enough words to express my gratitude to the doctors and nurses at the Methodist Hospital for getting me the best possible treatment and getting back to George and our dogs so quickly."
Barbara Bush's name has been given to several schools in the United States.
