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Born Barbara Pierce, she grew up in Rye, New York, where she met and later
married George Herbert Walker Bush on January 6, 1945. The Bush?s first
daughter, Robin, died in 1953 after fighting leukemia, but today the family
includes four sons (George W., Jeb, Marvin and Neil); one daughter (Dorothy);
four daughters-in-law; one son-in-law; and fourteen grandchildren. Their
eldest son, George W., was sworn in as the nation?s 43rd President on
January 20, 2001.
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Throughout her years in public life, Mrs. Bush volunteered in and supported
hundreds of charity and humanitarian causes. Today, she continues her
service as AmeriCares ambassador-at-large, and as a supporter of various
organizations, including the Leukemia Society of America, Ronald McDonald
Houses, and the Boys & Girls Club of America. Her number one cause, however,
is family literacy. In 1990, she helped develop the Barbara Bush Foundation
for Family Literacy whose mission is to support the development of family
literacy programs, break the intergenerational cycle of illiteracy, and
establish literacy as a value in every American family. She currently serves
as honorary chair of the Foundation and hosts its annual fundraiser, "A
Celebration of Reading." To learn more about the Barbara Bush Foundation for
Family Literacy, visit their web site at www.barbarabushfoundation.com.
Her involvement in the literacy cause does not end with her foundation. She
regularly undertakes a myriad of projects and a rigorous appearance schedule
designed to emphasize reading as a part of daily family life. By visiting
literacy programs across the country?in schools, housing projects,
organizations and businesses?she witnesses, first hand, the powerful impact
reading has on self-esteem and family dynamics. She authored C. Fred?s Story
and the best-selling Millie?s Book, whose profits benefited the literacy
cause. Most recently, she wrote Barbara Bush: A Memoir, her best-selling
autobiography emphasizing the importance of family, faith and friends
Profile:
Full Name : Barbara Bush
Birthdate : 8 June 1925
Birthplace : Rye, New York
BirthName : Barbara Pierce
Best Known As : U.S. First Lady, 1989-93 |
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