Read the Letter George HW Bush Wrote After the Death of His 3-Year-Old Daughter

By Kayla Kunkel December 5, 2018 at 10:08am

As the nation continues to mourn the death of George H.W. Bush, many people are finding comfort in the fact that both he and his wife, who passed away in April, are reunited with their daughter Robin.

Robin’s death was an incredibly impactful moment of the Bush family’s life; she passed away in 1953 after a battle with leukemia when she was only 3 years old.

The Bush Library tweeted that the family was “deeply impacted” by Robin’s death and that her death motivated George and Barbara Bush to fight cancer “for the rest of their lives.”

The tweet also included a precious photo of Robin sitting in her father’s lap.

President and Mrs. Bush were deeply impacted by the death of their daughter Robin, who succumbed to leukemia at the age of three. For the rest of their lives, helping to fight cancer was one of the many great causes driving George and Barbara Bush. #remembering41 pic.twitter.com/nQDJ1chijb

— Bush Library (@Bush41Library) December 1, 2018

In the summer of 1958, Bush wrote a poetic letter to his mother detailing how Robin’s presence was still felt even years after her death.

A recording of the letter, read by Barbara, was recently shared to remind people across the country just how loving and caring of a father President Bush was.

“There is about our house a need. We need some soft blonde hair to offset those crew cuts. We need a dollhouse to stand firm against our forts and racquets and thousand baseball cards,” he wrote. “We need someone who’s afraid of frogs. We need a little one who can kiss without leaving egg or jam or gum. We need a girl.”

“We had one once — she’d fight and cry and play and make her way, just like the rest. But there was about her a certain softness. She was patient. Her hugs were a just little less wiggly.”

Listen to Barbara Bush read #Bush41’s letter to his mother about their daughter Robin who died of leukemia at age 3. President Bush will be buried next to to his wife and daughter on Thursday. Another selection from “All The Best” ⬇️ #Remembering41 pic.twitter.com/GzcC6y4rt3

— Bush Foundation (@Bush41) December 2, 2018

He continued, “But she is still with us. We need her and yet we have her. We can’t touch her and yet we can feel her. We hope she’ll stay in our house for a long, long time.”

One touching tribute to President Bush was created by editorial cartoonist Marshall Ramsey and depicted President Bush standing next to his wife with Robin holding both of their hands.

In the cartoon Barbara tells Bush, “We waited for you.”

Jenna Bush Hagar, his granddaughter, shared the cartoon and reflected on a conversation she once had with him.

After telling Bush Hagar that he was looking forward to his death, she asked him why. His response shows that his love for Robin never diminished or waivered.

According to Bush Hagar, he said, “Well, when I die, I’m going to be reunited with the people I’ve lost. I hope I see Robin, and I hope I see my mom. I haven’t yet figured out if it will be Robin as the three year old that she was, this kind of chubby, vivacious child or if she’ll come as a middle-aged woman, an older woman… I hope she’s the three year old.”

View this post on Instagram

This brought me such comfort this morning. I had the opportunity to talk with my grandpa about the afterlife. This is what he said: He answered without any hesitation. “Yes, I think about it. I used to be afraid. I used to be scared of dying. I used to worry about death. But now in some ways I look forward to it.” And I started crying. I managed to choke out, “Well, why? What do you look forward to?” And he said, “Well, when I die, I’m going to be reunited with these people that I’ve lost.” And I asked who he hoped to see. He replied, I hope I see Robin, and I hope I see my mom. I haven’t yet figured it out if it will be Robin as the three year old that she was, this kind of chubby, vivacious child or if she’ll come as a middle-aged woman, an older woman. And then he said, “I hope she’s the three-year-old.” Robin was the daughter this giant of a man lost years before to leukemia. The little girl he held tightly: who spoke the phrase I have heard Gampy repeat for my entire life, forever knitting Robin’s voice into the tightly woven fabric of our family: “I love you more than tongue can tell.”

A post shared by jennabhager (@jennabhager) on Dec 1, 2018 at 4:21am PST