John Oyler: Barbara Bush's life explored in biography 'Matriarch'

The Bridgeville Area Historical Society welcomed back one of its favorite speakers last month, Dr. John Aupperle. His subject this year was Barbara Bush, based on the recent biography “Matriarch,” by Susan Page.

Barbara Pierce was born in New York City in 1925 and reared in nearby Rye, N.Y. Her father was president of McCall Corporation, publisher of popular women’s magazines. If her future husband, George H. W. Bush, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, her spoon was at least silver-plated.

Her mother and her older sister, Martha, were both slender fashion plates; in contrast Barbara was plump and dumpy, “the little fat girl” according to her mother. Apparently this feeling of inferiority stayed with her all her life.

She attended Ashley Hall, a distinguished girls’ preparatory school in Charlestown, S.C. In 1941, while she was home for a vacation she met her future husband at a country club dance. He was a student at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., an equally prestigious boys’ preparatory school.

They became engaged 18 months later, when George went off to war as a pilot of a Navy torpedo bomber. When he returned in 1945, she dropped out of Smith College and they were married. Their marriage lasted 73 years until her death, a record for a president that has since been broken by Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter.

The newlyweds moved to New Haven, Conn. where George comfortably negotiated an accelerated program in economics and sociology at Yale in two-and-a-half years. They then moved to Odessa, Texas, where he began a successful career in the oil industry.

Barbara was an extremely supportive wife in these years as their family began to grow. The death of their 3-year-old daughter, Robin, in 1953 was a terrible shock to both of them. The five surviving children remember her as the glue that held the family together in their early years.

George’s father, Prescott Bush, served two terms as U. S. senator from Connecticut, beginning in 1953. It was obvious that George would eventually enter politics on his own; in 1964 he lost a race for Senate representing Texas. He successfully was elected to Congress two years later.

In 1970, President Nixon appointed him ambassador to the United Nations. A series of other high profile assignments followed – chairman of the Republican Party, head of the U. S Liaison Office in China, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, vice president of the United States, and finally president.

Through all of this, Barbara played the part of good wife and mother. She enjoyed their tour of duty in China and endured her role of “second lady of the United States.” The contrast between her and Nancy Reagan was very obvious. This experience groomed her to be venerated as “America’s Grandmother” when her husband became president in 1988.

She received honorary doctorates from 31 colleges and universities, 11 more than her husband. When asked what her values were, she responded “Respect, dignity and trust.” Her legacy is the fact that her name is synonymous with them.