Barbara Pierce

In March 2019, in her last autobiography, it was revealed that at the time of her death, she no longer considered herself part of the Republican Party.

On April 15, 2018, her family released a statement regarding her failing health stating that she had chosen to be at home with family, desiring "comfort care" rather than further medical treatment. According to family spokesman Jim McGrath, her decision came as a result of "a series of recent hospitalizations".

Bush was initially opposed to her son Jeb making a potential bid for the presidency; she believed that other families should have a try at the nation's highest office and that "we've had enough Bushes". However, she reversed her position and appeared in a campaign ad for him. Beginning in February 2016, she began campaigning for him in New Hampshire, an early voting state. Jeb Bush joked that a town hall meeting attended by his mother featured a larger gathering than town halls prior to her involvement. Concerning her son, she believed that Jeb was nearly too well-mannered, but also was confident that he is "decent and honest, and everything we need in a president". Bush weighed in on Donald Trump, who was Jeb's rival for the nomination. By her own admission, she said that she could not understand how women "can vote for someone who said what he said about Megyn Kelly". She also indicated that she had tired of Trump over the course of the campaign and due to her gender, she was "not crazy about what he says about women". During the CBS Republican debate in February 2016, Jeb defended his mother by saying she "is the strongest woman I know", to which Trump replied that Bush herself "should be running".

Barbara Bush's eight years as second lady made her a household name. After her son Neil was diagnosed with dyslexia, she took an interest in literacy issues and began working with several different literacy organizations. She spent much time researching and learning about the factors that contributed to illiteracy—she believed homelessness was also connected—and the efforts underway to combat both. She traveled around the country and the world, either with the vice president on official trips or by herself. In 1984, she wrote a children's book, C. Fred's Story, which recounted the adventures of a family as related by their cocker spaniel, C. Fred. She donated all of the book's proceeds to literacy charities.

Bush was hospitalized with pneumonia on New Year's Eve 2013 and was released from the hospital a few days later.

In a November 2010 interview with Larry King, Bush was asked about former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Bush remarked, "I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful, and I think she's very happy in Alaska, and I hope she'll stay there." Palin responded, "I don't want to, sort of, concede that we have to get used to this kind of thing, because I think the majority of Americans don't want to put up with the blue-bloods—and I say it with all due respect, because I love the Bushes—but, the blue-bloods, who want to pick and choose their winners, instead of allowing competition to pick and choose the winners."

On October 3, 2008, Barbara Bush and her husband George opened the "George and Barbara Bush Center" on the University of New England waterfront Biddeford Campus a few miles north of Walker's Point. The George and Barbara Bush Center lays the foundation for the heritage of Barbara Bush in New England and houses "The Bush Legacy Collection", material securing the Bush legacy in Maine, including memorabilia on loan from the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University. Particular attention is given to the family's New England heritage and to Barbara Bush's love for Maine.

The remarks generated controversy. In 2006, it was revealed that Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush–Clinton Katrina Fund on the condition that the charity do business with an educational software company owned by her son Neil Bush.

On March 18, 2003—two days before the beginning of the 2003 invasion of Iraq—her son George W. Bush was President when ABC's Good Morning America asked her about her family's television viewing habits. She replied:

In 2002 she became an alumna initiate of the Texas Eta chapter of Pi Beta Phi at Texas A&M University. Bush chose this university due to it being the location of her husband's Presidential Library.

Bush campaigned for her son George W. Bush after he announced his presidential campaign in June 1999. Throughout the country, she met with women who supported his campaign, but she remained doubtful of his chances of winning. The resentment toward the campaign continued with her rejection of any criticism of her son that was said in her presence. She refused to watch any of the debates, in contrast to her husband, who was willing to listen and watch every debate. This created friction between the couple.

Bush attempted to persuade her son George W. Bush not to run for Governor of Texas in the 1994 gubernatorial election. She was convinced that he could not defeat Ann Richards, but he went on to win the election. Several days after he was sworn in as Governor of Texas, she went to a Distinguished Speakers Event at the LBJ Library for Lady Bird Johnson. There, she was introduced by her son, the new Governor of Texas, and the following day, received a letter from him dated January 18, 1995, in which he asserted that he would not be governor had it not been for her and George H. W. Bush. Mrs. Bush described the letter as having "moved" both her and her husband. On September 3, 1995, the Bushes went to Vietnam. This was "unbelievable" to Barbara because she "never expected to set foot in what had been North Vietnam. The Bushes first went to Hanoi and then to Ho Chi Minh City. They met with President Lê Đức Anh and party secretary Đỗ Mười. On September 28, 1995, the Bushes drove to Portland, Maine, for the announcement of the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. Bush said her life was being stretched, adding, "Long after I am gone this hospital will be there with my name." The Bushes visited the children there, and Mrs. Bush started to recall her daughter Robin after seeing them. The Bushes returned home early that month.

Bush's husband ultimately went on to lose his bid for re-election to Bill Clinton. After leaving the White House, the couple resided at the River Oaks community in Houston, Texas, and at the Bush compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. Bush described January 20, 1993, the day of Bill Clinton's inauguration, a "tough day" for her and her husband. After returning to Houston, the two were visited by their son, George W. Bush, and at that point, Bush realized that she had not cooked in 12 years. She had difficulty driving a car on her own, and she did not drive far from home for a long time; her husband warned people to get out of the way if they saw her car. A month after her husband left office in February 1993, Bush was surprised when her husband booked them on the "Love Boat" ship Regal Princess. In April 1993, Bush and her husband had breakfast with the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was on an American speaking tour. Thatcher mentioned the most recent celebration of former President Ronald Reagan's birthday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, where he orated the same card twice. Bush read about the incident after Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which she called a "tragedy for both" the Reagans.

During her husband's 1992 presidential campaign, Barbara Bush stated that abortion and homosexuality are personal matters and argued that the Republican Party should not take a stand on them, saying that "The personal things should be left out of, in my opinion, platforms and conventions." Her personal views on abortion were not known, although her friends reported at that time that she "privately supported abortion rights". She explained, "I hate abortions, but I just could not make that choice for someone else."

She gave the Wellesley College commencement address in 1990; her speech was listed as #45 in American Rhetoric's Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century (listed by rank).

In 1988, Vice President Bush announced his candidacy for president to succeed the term-limited President Reagan. By this time, Barbara had experienced two presidential campaigns, but broke new ground by becoming the third candidate's spouse to speak at the national party convention that nominated her husband (after Eleanor Roosevelt in 1940 and Pat Nixon in 1972). She promised voters that she would be a traditional first lady and campaigned actively for her husband. The campaign at times focused on the large Bush family, and contrasted her with the incumbent first lady, Nancy Reagan, by highlighting her interest in domestic staples such as church, gardening, and time spent with family while placing less emphasis on style sense and fashion; she drew attention to both her famous white hair and disinterest in wearing designer clothes. She generally avoided discussion of political issues during the campaign, particularly those on which she and her husband differed, and those closely involved with the campaign have reported that she was actively involved in campaign strategy. Bush was elected in November 1988 and sworn in on January 20, 1989.

Bush was diagnosed with Graves' disease in 1988. Later on, she suffered from congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Bush was a heavy smoker for 25 years, quitting in 1968 when a nurse condemned her smoking in her hospital room after surgery.

In 1982, Barbara Bush received the D.A.R. Medal of Honor from the Daughters of the American Revolution. She became a member in 1985 and continued her membership until her death.

Barbara Bush defended her husband's experience and personal qualities when he announced his candidacy for President of the United States in 1980. She caused a stir when she said that she supported ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and was pro-choice on abortion, placing her at odds with the conservative wing of the Republican party, led by California governor Ronald Reagan. Reagan earned the presidential nomination over her husband, who then accepted Reagan's invitation to be his running mate; the team was elected in 1980.

Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford, appointed Bush head of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China in 1974, and the Bushes relocated. She enjoyed the time that she spent in China and often rode bicycles with her husband to explore cities and regions that few Americans had visited. Three years later, Bush was recalled to the U.S. to serve as Director of Central Intelligence during a crucial time of legal uncertainty for the agency. He was not allowed to share classified aspects of his job with Barbara; the ensuing sense of isolation, coupled with her perception that she was not achieving her goals while other women of her time were, plunged her into a depression. She did not seek professional help. Instead, she began delivering speeches and presentations about her time spent in the closed-off China, and volunteered at a hospice.

As the wife of a congressman, Barbara immersed herself in projects that piqued her interest; the projects included various charities and Republican women's groups in Washington, D.C. Though her husband lost a second bid for the Senate in 1970, President Richard Nixon appointed him the United States ambassador to the United Nations, which enabled Barbara to begin forming relationships in New York City with prominent diplomats. As the Watergate scandal heated up in 1973, Nixon asked Bush to become Chairman of the Republican National Committee; Barbara advised her husband to reject the offer because of the harsh political climate, but he accepted anyway.

In 1966, George Bush was elected as a U.S. representative in Congress from Texas. Barbara raised her children while her husband campaigned and occasionally joined him on the trail. Over the ensuing years, George Bush was elected or appointed to several different positions in the U.S. Congress or the executive branch, or government-related posts, and Barbara Bush accompanied him in each case.

When their daughter Dorothy was born in August 1959, the Bushes moved from Midland to Houston. In 1963, George Bush was elected Harris County Republican Party chairman, in the first of what would become many elections. In 1964, he made his first run for a prominent political office—U.S. senator from Texas. Although he lost the election, the exposure that the Bush family received put George and Barbara on the national scene.

Following her death, a cartoon by Marshall Ramsey, of The Clarion-Ledger, was widely circulated, showing Barbara being greeted by her daughter Robin (who died of leukemia at age 3 in the 1950s) upon her entry to heaven. The cartoon was shared by various people and relatives of the family, including George W.'s daughter, Jenna Bush Hager. She would be featured again in another Ramsey cartoon later on in December of that same year (following her husband George's death seven months later), where both she and Robin greeted George after he landed a TBM Avenger (the type of airplane he flew in the Navy during World War II) in heaven.

After the war ended, George and Barbara had their first child while George was a student at Yale University. Famously, the child's very first words were "How's Barbara?" - a phrase she had heard echo from her father daily on his return from work. The young family soon moved to Odessa, Texas, where George entered the oil business. In September 1949, Barbara's parents were in a car accident in New York and her mother was killed. Mrs. Bush was pregnant at the time with her second child, and was advised not to travel to attend the funeral. When the baby was born, she was named Pauline Robinson Bush in honor of Barbara's mother. The Bushes moved to the Los Angeles area for a time, and then to Midland, Texas in 1950. The Bushes would move some 29 times during their marriage. Over time, Bush built a business in the oil industry and joined with colleagues to start up the successful Zapata Corporation. Barbara raised her children while her husband was usually away on business. In 1953, the Bushes' daughter, Robin, died of leukemia.

Barbara Pierce was born in Booth Memorial Hospital in New York City. She met George Herbert Walker Bush at the age of sixteen, and the two married in Rye, New York in 1945, while he was on leave during his deployment as a Naval officer in World War II. They moved to Texas in 1948, where George later began his political career.

Pierce and her three siblings were raised in a house on Onondaga Street in Rye. She attended Milton Public School from 1931 to 1937, Rye Country Day School until 1940 and later the boarding school Ashley Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, from 1940 to 1943. In her youth, Pierce was athletic and enjoyed swimming, tennis, and bike riding. Her interest in reading began early in life; she recalled gathering and reading with her family during the evenings.

She was an actress, known for The Grand Duchess and the Waiter (1926), Lizzies of the Field (1924) and Wandering Waistlines (1924).

Barbara Bush (née  Pierce; June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was the first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993 as the wife of George H. W. Bush, who served as the 41st president of the United States, and founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously was the second lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Among her six children are George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, and Jeb Bush, the 43rd governor of Florida. She and Abigail Adams are the only two women to be married to one U.S. president and the mother of another.

Barbara Pierce was born on October 15, 1904 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.