The pair meet at a Christmas dance when she was 17, and he was 18. The then-future President was a naval aviator in training. He sent this to her on Dec. 12, 1943, after the announcement of their engagement was in the local newspapers.
“I love you, precious, with all my heart and to know that you love me means my life. How often I have thought about the immeasurable joy that will be ours someday. How lucky our children will be to have a mother like you,” the letter read.
The former first lady kept the letter in a scrapbook and according to historians, it was the only one she had left. He continued, in the letter, that he could not wait to return to his future wife.
“This may sound melodramatic, but if it does it is only my inadequacy to say what I mean. Bar, you have made my life full of everything I could ever dream of — my complete happiness should be a token of my love for you.”
The only love letter Barbara Bush kept from George HW during World War II (the others were lost). It is dated December 12, 1943. “How often I have thought about the immeasurable joy that will be ours someday. How lucky our children will be to have a mother like you—“ pic.twitter.com/9n9GDx7lAM
— Carlos Lozada (@CarlosNYT) April 18, 2018
Reported by Fox News:
The announcement was made in a statement from the office of former President George H.W. Bush.
“A former First Lady of the United States of America and relentless proponent of family literacy, Barbara Pierce Bush passed away Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at the age of 92. She is survived by her husband of 73 years, President George H. W. Bush; five children and their spouses; 17 grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; and her brother, Scott Pierce. She was preceded in death by her second child, Pauline Robinson ‘Robin’ Bush, and her siblings Martha Rafferty and James R. Pierce.”
Bush was “broken-hearted” over the loss of his “beloved Barbara” and was said to have held her hand all day. He was “at her side” when she passed away, his chief of staff said.
In a statement, her son, former President George W. Bush, called his mother “a fabulous First Lady and a woman unlike any other.”
He also said, “My dear mother has passed on at age 92. Laura, Barbara, Jenna, and I are sad, but our souls are settled because we know hers was. Barbara Bush was a fabulous First Lady and a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love, and literacy to millions. To us, she was so much more. Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end. I’m a lucky man that Barbara Bush was my mother. Our family will miss her dearly, and we thank you all for your prayers and good wishes.”