daughter that we lost. man, i tell you, they were there we were there the day they dedicated one of the texas institutions, hospital institutions. but that one never, never left, never left. and the beautiful painted portrait of her always was in their living room. and then they went on and there was sorrow and he was just as bucky s funeral the other day. we called barbara, we said we know george is at the funeral, how are you? this was three days ago. she said, great, how are you, how s life? i said, what are you doing right now? she said, susan baker is reading to me. and you know how i love to read. in fact, you remember, i invited
jamie, an extraordinary way to end a remarkable life, holding the hand of the man you met when you were 16 years old. president bush s chief of staff jean backer, she said, of course 41 is broken hearted to lose his barbara, his wife of 73 years. he held her hand all day today and was at her side when she left this good earth. she said, obviously this is a very challenging time but it will not surprise all of you who love him that he is stoic and strong and is being lifted up by his large and supportive family. he s determined to be there for them as well. and, you know, it s a sad day, but she would also want us to be making a bourbon toast to her. that was her last drink. she would want us to be celebrating at the same time. hopefully the liquor store is
thinking of donald trump in the white house who has none of the qualities that the bushes had. and i think it s just a sign of how different this country is now than it was not that many years ago. i think it also gives you a sense of why mrs. bush was so repelled by donald trump. sort of, again, whatever you think of either of them, he is antithetical to all of the values she grew up believing in and lived her life by. we re talking about someone from a different time and era. this is someone who during world war ii volunteered at a nuts and bolts factory, right? she was so devoted to her husband that when he was shot down during the war, they weren t yet married, there was a month-long period when she didn t hear from him. the two things that come to my mind with her is this sense of service to the country that goes all the way back to world war ii, when she volunteered to sort of rosie the riveter type life. it s amazing to talk about someone who was in politics relatively rec
through her family, children, and grandchildren. i know that i m the world s luckiest woman. i think if i sort of put it in a nutshell, these are the things that are important to me. faith, family, and friends. an extraordinary life. joining me on the phone is former senator alan simpson, a close friend of the bushes. senator, i know your family were dear friends to the bushes. what are your thoughts on this evening? anderson, she was a powerhouse. we had such fun together. she was who she was. and she was fierce. she had this great love of george. there were such wonderful times when we fished together or traveled together, the four of
as ferris beuller said on his day off, life moves fast and if you don t observe it, you re going to miss it. reporter: bush was elected ronald reagan s vice president. eight years later, he sat in the oval office. barbara bush loved living in the white house, keeping diaries of her time there and using them to help write her memoirs. two other books showed her lighter side and a dog s eye view of the executive mansion. mrs. bush knew well her vision of a first lady s role. i think the person who has the courage to run for the office is the one you should hear. not the wife or the husband. having said that, of course i told george how i felt. reporter: for george and barbara, their more than 60 years together included decades of devotion. this letter to her written by george while he was serving in world war ii.