Barbara Bush, RIP

Published 8:33 am Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Barbara Bush’s long and worthy life included more than two-dozen moves with her husband, former President George H.W. Bush. But her Eastern upbringing and patrician background aside, she fit comfortably in the skin of a no-nonsense, plain-spoken Texan, which she was from 1950 until Tuesday, when she died at 92.

Mrs. Bush’s last hours were spent in Houston in the comfort and loving support of the public spirited and consequential family that she ruled for more than seven decades as matriarch. Her influence on two presidents, her husband and son, George W. Bush, was affirmed by and beneficial to both men, who revered her and valued her insights.

But Barbara Bush had lasting and beneficial effects on the nation as well, often in support roles for her husband and sons as well as for the public causes she espoused when given a national stage, which was often.

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Born in New York City to a prominent family — her father was president of the McCall Corp. publishing company and a descendant of President Franklin Pierce — she met her future husband while both were enrolled at exclusive boarding schools.

She later left college after her engagement but maintained her voracious reading habits, which she took up at a young age.

As the wife of an influential Republican, she served her husband in support roles in Congress; at the United Nations, where George Bush served as ambassador; in China, where her husband served in a diplomatic role; and in Washington, where he served twice as vice president and a single term as president.

As the nation’s “second lady,” she proved more popular than the first. She wore plain pearls and shunned designer clothes, wanted to travel on commercial flights and on trains and was candid to the point of bluntness on many occasions.

Her political views — she favored the Equal Rights Amendment and was pro-choice — sometimes diverged from her husband’s and she was candid about their differences. Her preferred “causes” usually centered around literacy, which she promoted with passion, at least in part because of the dyslexia that affected her son Neil. She also wrote children’s books and donated proceeds to her charitable interests, which came to include the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

In her later years she seemed to grow more weary of political life, reluctant to watch the presidential debates in 2000 and reticent about her own sons choosing political paths toward high office.

She raised eyebrows when she voiced skepticism about son Jeb running for president and suggested that “we’ve had enough Bushes.” But we seldom had enough of Barbara Bush. We admired her devotion to family, her own commitment to public service and the easy charm she showed as America’s first lady.