Barbara Bush (1925-2018)

She was born in New York, the daughter of Marvin Pierce, Vice-President of the McCall Corporation that published the popular women's magazines Redbook and McCall's. She was a great-great granddaughter of "General" James Pierce (whose entire fortune was lost within just one generation) and very distantly related to U.S. President Franklin Pierce through their mutual ancestor, Thomas Pierce (1617-1683).

She grew up in Rye, New York attending Milton School, Rye Country Day School, and Ashley Hall in Charleston, S.C. She was sixteen (1941) when she first met George H.W. Bush and they were married after he got back from the war in 1945. Before her husband's political career took him to Washington D.C. in 1967, they had made their home in Texas, but always vacationed at the Bush Compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. Her husband won the U.S. Presidential Election in 1988. As First Lady, she founded the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy in 1989, reflecting her belief that reading was fundamental to solving America's problems. She was known for her wit, candor, and silver-haired grandmotherly image that endeared her to many Americans. She was often called the "Silver Fox" and was respected across party lines for her authenticity and sharp humor. Her memoir published in 1994, Barbara Bush: A Memoir became a bestseller.

She and her husband were the parents of six children including the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush, and the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. She and Abigail Adams (1744-1818) are the only two women in American history to be both a wife and mother to U.S. Presidents. She remained active in public life well into her later years, continuing her advocacy for literacy and education until her death in Houston, Texas.