George HW Bush Made Special Addition to His Outfit To Honor Late Wife's Legacy
On Saturday, as St. Martin’s Episcopal Church honored former first lady Barbara Bush, who died earlier this week at the age of 92, husband George H.W. Bush made a personal statement of his own.
According to The Washington Examiner, the former president honored his wife of 73 years by wearing socks detailed with books on them to her funeral, a nod to the former first lady’s commitment to literacy.
“To honor his wife of 73 years and her commitment to family literacy, for which she raised over $110 million over the course of over 30 years, @GeorgeHWBush will be wearing a pair of socks festooned with books at today’s funeral service for former First Lady Barbara Bush,” tweeted family spokesman Jim McGrath.
Barbara Bush had spent a large portion of her public life working hard to improve literacy rates in the U.S. through her organization The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.
She is set to be laid to rest on the grounds of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University, where she will be buried near her daughter, Pauline Robinson Bush, who was just 3 years old when she died of Leukemia in 1953.
Congregation sings "Praise the Lord" at Barbara Bush funeral. https://t.co/K0uzjBlb4g pic.twitter.com/B1qEgdmFJr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 21, 2018
Barbara Bush, her children and husband Geroge H.W. Bush have been members of the church congregation for decades now, back when it was merely a small-town Episcopal gathering of only 250 people.
Since the time of its inception, the congregation has grown exponentially, creating a greater need for space and adhering to demands from parishioners for a “more traditional” church service, according to Fox 26. That growth only led to the former first couple exhibiting their generosity even further.
“There are plenty of times when we were really crowded, which is a great problem as a church,” said Senior Pastor Dr. Russ Levinson. “And you would see the president or Mrs. Bush or both of them get up and offer their seat to somebody else or scoot over so that people can squeeze in.”
And the former first lady’s generosity hasn’t been lost on those who loved her dearly, as her passing has only brought back memories of the beloved woman.
In the first public comment he’s made since her passing on Tuesday, former President George H.W. Bush admitted that he used to tease his wife about her generosity, stating that it gave him a “complex.”
“I always knew Barbara was the most beloved woman in the world, and in fact, I used to tease her that I had a complex about that fact,” said Bush, who suggested that people were naturally drawn to his wife and her compassion.
Bush referred to his wife as “The Enforcer,” a label given as she ran the household while he pursued his career first in the oil business in Texas and then politically, and stated that the memory of her love during such a hard time is “lifting us all up.”
The couple’s son, former President George W. Bush, spoke at his presidential library to an audience on Wednesday and stated that Barbara Bush was “funny to the end,” and recalled one particular conversation they’d had on the phone before her passing.
“The day before she died, I said ‘Mom, I just want you to know you’ve been a fabulous mother and I love you dearly.’” Bush said. “And she said, ‘I want you to know that you’re my favorite son — on the phone.’”
“I hope you don’t feel sorry for any of us, particularly me,” he added, saying that his mother was at peace, which left him to be at peace. “She believes in an afterlife and was joyously looking forward to that afterlife.”
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