Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush paid tribute to his mother the day after her death during his keynote address at the Elmhurst College Governmental Forum.
“I’m so blessed to be her son,” Jeb Bush said on Wednesday. “She taught us to serve others, she taught us to be civil, she taught us to love your family with your heart and soul.”
Jeb Bush joked that he can still feel his mother’s presence behind him saying, “You said you would only speak 30 minutes, so make sure you don’t go beyond that.”
Jeb Bush’s brother, former President George W. Bush, also publicly praised his late mother on Wednesday.
“I hope you don’t feel sorry for any of us, particularly me — I am at peace with what took place, and the reason why is my mother was at peace for what took place,” George W. Bush said.
The 43rd president said his mother believed in an afterlife and was greatly looking forward to it.
Barbara bush died at the age of 92 on Tuesday following her yearlong battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.
The former first lady was married to former President George H.W. Bush for 73 years. Barbara Bush was the mother of six children — her daughter Robin died of Leukemia as a child — and she is survived by her remaining five children, 17 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
