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Barbara Bush: Her life in photos

By Madeleine Morgenstern

Former first lady Barbara Bush, whose three-strand pearl necklaces and bright white hair made her instantly recognizable as the wife of one American president and mother of another one, died Tuesday. She was 92.

Born in Rye, N.Y., Barbara Pierce met George Bush at a dance when she was 16 years old. They married in 1945 and had six children: George, Robin, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy.

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As the wife of the vice president and then as first lady of the United States, Barbara Bush took up literacy as her cause for the nation. With her trademark good humor and plainspoken manner, she was beloved as “America’s grandmother.”

“One of the reasons I made the most important decision of my life, to marry George Bush, is because he made me laugh,” she said delivering the 1990 commencement address at Wellesley College. “It’s true, sometimes we’ve laughed through our tears. But that shared laughter has been one of our strongest bonds. Find the joy in life, because as Ferris Bueller said on his day off, ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you’re gonna miss it!'”

Barbara Pierce, the future Barbara Bush, in her graduation photo from Ashley Hall, a finishing school in Charleston, S.C., in 1943. (AP Photo)

George Bush and Barbara Bush
George Bush, candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, gets returns by phone at his headquarters in Houston, June 6, 1964, as his wife Barbara, beams her pleasure at the news.
Barbara Bush
Mrs. George Bush walking on New York’s Park Avenue, April 13, 1971.
Barbara Bush
Mrs. Barbara Bush shown April 13, 1971.
Barbara Bush
Mrs. Barbara Bush, wife of the man nominated to head the CIA, looks up from her needlepoint as her husband prepares to begin his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Dec. 16, 1975.
George H.W. Bush CIA
George Bush is sworn in as director of the Central Intelligence Agency by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart as Mrs. Barbara Bush and President Gerald Ford look on at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., Jan. 30, 1976.
George H Bush Barbara Bush,
Former CIA Director George Bush and his wife Barbara shake hands with supporters as they leave a hotel ballroom where Bush was campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, Feb. 26, 1980.
RNC Reagan Bush 1980
Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan and running mate George Bush with their wives as the final curtain draws near on the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit, July 17, 1980.
George Bush and Barbara Bush
Republican vice presidential nominee George Bush and wife Barbara are all smiles after casting their vote in the general election at their Houston precinct, Nov. 4, 1980.
Reagan Assassination Attempt 1981
Barbara Bush welcomes President Ronald Reagan back to the White House, April 11, 1981, after he was released from the hospital 12 days after getting shot in the chest by a would-be assassin.
Barbara Bush National Christmas Tree
Second lady Barbara Bush asks photographers if they are finished taking pictures as she stands suspended in a bucket truck in the rain while putting the star atop the National Christmas Tree, Dec.1, 1981.
Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, George H,W, Bush, Barbara Bush
President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan share a moment with Vice President and Mrs. George Bush following the oaths in the Capitol Building in Washington, Jan. 21, 1985.
Barbara Bush and Circus Clown Sept. 1986
Second lady Barbara Bush and a circus clown during a presentation to more than 300 school children at Greenlee Elementary School in Denver, Sept. 26, 1986.
Bush
Vice President George Bush, wife Barbara, and family dog Millie gather with some of their 10 grandchildren at the vice president’s residence on Christmas Eve in Washington, Dec. 24, 1987.
Dan Quayle, George H.W. Bush
Republican presidential nominee George Bush points behind the back of his running mate Sen. Dan Quayle as they and wives Marilyn Quayle and Barbara Bush are showered with confetti at the end of the Republican National Convention in New Orleans, August 18, 1988.
Bush Victory Rally
President-elect George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara Bush wave to the crowd at a victory celebration rally, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 1988, Houston, Texas.
Barbara Bush Literary Honors Nov. 1988
Barbara Bush, wife of President-elect George Bush, receives a medal during the National Literary Honors Dinner, Nov. 15, 1988 in Washington. The future first lady was honored for her literacy efforts.
Barbara Bush 1989
First lady Barbara Bush dons a giant sombrero given to her by her daughter Noel after performing with a mariachi band, Jan. 19, 1989 in Washington. Mrs. Bush was attending “A Salute to Barbara Bush.”
INAUGURATION GEORGE BUSH
President George Bush raises his right hand as he is sworn into office as the 41st president of the United States by Chief Justice William Rehnquist as first lady Barbara Bush holds the Bible, Jan. 20, 1989.
George H. Bush and Barbara Bush
President George Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush attend one of the Inaugural Balls, Jan. 21, 1989.
Barbara Bush 1989
First lady Barbara Bush pokes fun at herself with reporters visiting the summer White House in Kennebunkport, Maine, August 23, 1989. When asked about her health and recent treatment for Graves’s disease, which affects her vision, Mrs. Bush replied, “I want you to see my eyes are just fine.”
Bush Chilly Millie
First lady Barbara Bush strolls on the White House South Lawn with the family dog, Millie, Feb. 8, 1989.
Bush Family Easter March 1989
First lady Barbara Bush, granddaughter Marshall Bush, and son Neil Bush are flanked by Easter bunnies as they stand on the White House balcony, March 27, 1989.
Bush And Millie
First lady Barbara Bush watches Millie, the family dog, and her newborn puppies in the White House Rose Garden, March 29, 1989.
George Bush and Margaret Thatcher
President George Bush and Barbara Bush with Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher upon arriving in London, May 31, 1989.
Bush On "Sesame Street" Oct. 1989
First lady Barbara Bush chats with Big Bird and several children while taping a special segment of PBS’ “Sesame Street,” Oct. 19, 1989.
Barbara Bush Washington 1990
First lady Barbara Bush takes a stab at pool as she visits with elementary students at the Boys and Girls Club in southeast Washington, D.C., Feb. 27, 1990.
Bush Saudi Arabia Nov. 1990
President George H. W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush with U.S Marines over Thanksgiving, Nov. 22, 1990, in Saudi Arabia.
Barbara Bush at Tutankhanum Cairo 1990
First lady Barbara Bush, accompanied by her Egyptian counterpart Suzanne Mubarak is given a tour of the Tutankhanum collection by Zahi Hawass, an Egyptologist, at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Friday, Nov. 23, 1990.
Grand Canyon Barbara Bush April 1991
First lady Barbara Bush waves a Park Ranger hat to the crowd, April 12, 1991, at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
First Ladies 1994
Former first lady Barbara Bush “strains” to hear a reporter’s question while posing with other former first ladies, May 11, 1994, at the U.S. Botanic Garden. Joining Mrs. Bush, from left are Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford and Nancy Reagan.
BUSH
The Bush family poses for a photograph during a birthday celebration for former President and first lady George and Barbara Bush, June 10, 1999 in Houston. Seated, from left to right: Neil Bush, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, former President George Bush, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Marvin Bush, and Dorothy Koch. Standing, left to right: Sharon Bush, Laura Bush, former first lady Barbara Bush, Columba Bush, Margaret Bush, and Bobby Koch.
BUSH June 1999
Texas Gov. George W. Bush gives his mother Barbara Bush a hug after taking a family photo, June 10, 1999 in Houston.
BUSH Oct. 2002
Former first lady Barbara Bush makes a point as she campaigns for her son, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Fla., Oct. 22, 2002.
BUSH Jan. 2002
President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush leave Saint John’s Church in Washington, Jan 27, 2002, with former President George H. W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush after attending Sunday service.
George H. W. Bush, Barbara Bush
Former President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush arrive for a ceremony to dedicate an expanded gallery that carries his name at the National Museum of the Pacific War, Dec. 7, 2009, in Fredericksburg, Texas.
George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush June 2012
Former first lady Barbara Bush touches the hair of her husband President George H.W. Bush as they arrive for the premiere of HBO’s new documentary on his life, near the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, June 12, 2012.
Barack Obama, Barbara Bush April 2013
President Barack Obama shares a laugh with former first lady Barbara Bush at the dedication of the George W. Bush presidential library on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, April 25, 2013.
George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush
Former President George H.W. Bush embraces former first lady Barbara Bush after she introduced him at the Genesis Women’s Shelter Mother’s Day Luncheon in Dallas, May 3, 2006.

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