PRIME MOVER • Barbara Bush
PRIME MOVER Wedding Day with Parents
Liz, Noel, Betty, Anna and Kate Wedding Day in Rye, NY
“Both of the Bushes are
Photo Courtesy of George Bush 41 Presidential Library and Museum
the kind of people who make you feel totally at ease.”
Mrs. Ellis shares,“Their relationship is very special." garden at Walker’s Point. It is her pride and joy and she knows where every flower is. It is almost overwhelming it is so big.” Photo Courtesy of George Bush 41 Presidential Library and Museum
S
he is the wife of the 41st President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush and the mother of the 43rd President, George Walker Bush. She served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and is the matriarch and muse for her large family of altruistic high-achievers. Every summer, she and her family live on their compound on Walker’s Point, Kennebunkport, Maine.
Kennebunkport
Mrs. Bush is now 92 years old. She was born June 8, 1925 and raised in New York. Her parents were Pauline Robinson Pierce and Marvin Pierce, who was the president of McCall Corporation and publisher of McCall’s and Redbook magazines.
Mrs. Bush told Maine Seniors magazine that what she likes about Kennebunkport are the people. Betsy Heminway has been her close friend for over 45 years. She met Mrs. Bush through her husband, Spike, who grew up in Rye, New York near Mrs. Bush and in Connecticut where the Bush family lived. Mrs. Heminway, who spends her summers in Kennebunkport, relates,“Barbara has an extraordinary sense of humor. She is very self-deprecating and is just fun to be with. She is extremely sensible and down to earth and remained that way through the White House years.”
She met her husband at a Christmas dance when she was 16 and they married in 1945. The First Lady and President George Herbert Walker Bush had six children: former President George Walker Bush, Pauline Robinson Bush (died of leukemia at age three), former Governor John Ellis “Jeb” Bush, Neil Mallon Bush, Marvin Pierce Bush, and Dorothy “Doro” Bush Koch. They have 17 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.
The former First Lady loves dogs and flowers. “Whenever we would take our dogs for a walk on the beach in Kennebunkport, she would greet everyone and she knows the names of all the dogs.” Mrs. Heminway continued,“She wrote a letter of support in order to get people in town to allow dogs on the beach. Presently, the dogs can be on the beach all day until June 15th and then during the summer before 9 AM and after 5 PM. Barbara has a beautiful
9 • MAINE SENIORS
Robin Ellis is the wife of Mrs. Bush’s nephew, Alexander “Hap” Ellis III. She met Mr. & Mrs. Bush in Washington, D.C. in 1973, when President George H. W. Bush was the Chairman of the Republican National Committee and Robin was on her second date with Hap. At that time, the young couple lived in D.C. and was invited to lunch at the Bush’s house every Sunday. Presently, Robin is on the fundraising committee for the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy here in Maine. “Both of the Bushes are the kind of people who make you feel totally at ease.” Mrs. Ellis shares,“Their relationship is very Mrs. Bush and Friend Betsy Heminway
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