Barbara Bush

Barbara Pierce was born to parents Marvin and Pauline Pierce on June 8, 1925, in New York City. She attended boarding school at Ashley Hall and met a young George H.W. Bush at a dance in 1941.¹ The two became engaged before George Bush served in the Navy during World War II. Barbara studied at Smith College before leaving school to marry Bush upon his return on January 6, 1945—so began a marriage that lasted seventy-three years.²

After the war, George attended Yale University and he and Barbara started a family, welcoming six children: George, Pauline or “Robin,” John Ellis or “Jeb,” Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy.³ Sadly, their daughter Robin died of leukemia at age three.

Mrs. Bush supported her husband’s emerging political career, which led to increasingly important roles including ambassador to the United Nations, chairman of the Republican National Committee, chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China, and director of the Central Intelligence Agency.⁴ Throughout these appointments and changes, Barbara Bush managed many national and international moves for the family.

As second lady, she took on a cause that has become synonymous with her life: literacy.⁵ When she became first lady in 1989, she continued to promote literacy for children and adults alike. She launched the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and visited schools and libraries across the country. While in the White House, she also published Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush (1990), a children’s book about the adventures of the Bush family’s dog, Millie.⁶

She also promoted other causes as first lady, including volunteerism and support for HIV/AIDS patients.⁷ An advocate for historic preservation, Mrs. Bush helped to establish the White House Endowment Trust and reactivated the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, preserving the historic rooms and the White House Collection for future generations.⁸ Above all else, the Bushes prioritized family, spending quality time with their children and grandchildren at the White House, Camp David, and their home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

After leaving the White House in 1993, Mrs. Bush published Barbara Bush: A Memoir (1994) and Reflections: Life After the White House (2003). She continued to advocate for literacy and saw her son, George W. Bush, elected president in 2000, which made her the second woman to be both the wife and mother of a U.S. president. Barbara Bush died on April 17, 2018; she is buried next to her husband and daughter Robin on the grounds of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas.