AMIR OFFERS DEEPEST CONDOLENCES ON LOSS OF BARBARA BUSH

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Hearts at half-mast for matriarch – Funeral set for Saturday

Former US president Bush and first lady Barbara Bush witness the damage done to the National Museum on a visit to Kuwait in 1993 after the liberation from Iraqi occupation

KUWAIT CITY/HOUSTON, April 18, (Agencies): His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent Wednesday a cable of condolences to former US president George Bush over the passing away of former first lady Barbara Bush.

In the cable, His Highness the Amir expressed deepest sympathies and heavy heart sentiments on the demise of Mrs Bush; who enjoyed a great deal of love and appreciation on the part of the Kuwaiti people. His Highness the Amir sent a similar cable to former US president; and son of the deceased, George W. Bush.

Meanwhile, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cables to both former presidents. Barbara Bush, the only woman to see her husband and son both sworn in as president, died on Tuesday, aged 92. Bush was the wife of the 41st president, George H.W. Bush, and mother of the 43rd, George W. Bush.

The Bush family had said in a statement on Sunday that she was in failing health, had decided not to seek further medical treatment and instead would focus on “comfort care.” According to some media reports, Bush had been battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart problems in recent years. “Barbara Bush was a fabulous first lady and a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love and literacy to millions,” George W. Bush said in a statement. “To us, she was so much more. Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end.”

The Silver Fox Dubbed
“The Silver Fox” by her husband and children, Bush was known for her snow-white hair and for being fiercely protective of her family. She was first lady when her husband was in the White House from 1989 to 1993. Her son, Republican George Walker Bush, triumphed in the disputed 2000 US election and was president from 2001 to 2009. The father-and-son presidents were sometimes referred to as “Bush 41” and “Bush 43.”

The Bushes celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in January. Bush had an independent streak and could be sharp-tongued. As first lady, she promoted literacy and reading but said she was more interested in running a household than helping her husband run the country. She discouraged speculation that she wielded political influence with the president like her predecessors — Ronald Reagan’s wife, Nancy Reagan, and Jimmy Carter’s wife, Rosalynn Carter. “I don’t fool around with his office and he doesn’t fool around with my household,” she once said. “She’ll speak her mind but only to him,” said Jack Steel, a longtime Bush aide. President Donald Trump and former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were among those praising the late first lady.

“She will be long remembered for her strong devotion to country and family, both of which she served unfailingly well,” Trump and his wife, Melania, said in a statement that noted Bush’s championing of literacy “as a fundamental family value.” Clinton, who defeated her husband in the 1992 presidential election, called Bush “fierce and feisty in support of her family and friends, her country and her causes. She showed us what an honest, vibrant, full life looks like.” Obama and his wife, Michelle, said in a statement that Barbara Bush was “an example of the humility and decency that reflects the very best of the American spirit.” The only other woman to be both wife and mother of US presidents was Abigail Adams, the first lady from 1797 to 1801. She was a major influence on husband John Adams, the nation’s second president, but died before son John Quincy Adams was elected president in 1824. Another of Bush’s sons, Jeb, who served as governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007, sought the 2016 Republican presidential nomination and she campaigned for him before he dropped out of the race.

Funeral set for Saturday
A private funeral for Barbara Bush will be held on Saturday at a Houston church where her family has been members since the 1950s, officials said. After the funeral at St Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, Bush will be buried on Saturday on the grounds of the George H.W. Bush Library and Museum at Texas A&M University in College Station, about 100 miles (160 km) away, the university said. She will be buried beside her daughter, Robin, who died at the age of 3 after battling leukemia, the university said in a statement late on Tuesday.

First Lady Melania Trump will attend the funeral, her office said on Wednesday. The White House has not yet said whether President Donald Trump will attend. Flags flew at half-staff at the White House and the US Capitol in Bush’s honor. On Friday, she will lay in repose at St Martin’s, which will be open to members of the public wishing to pay their respects, the Houston church said on its website.

Reverend Russ Levinson, senior pastor at St Martin’s, told the local Fox affiliate in Houston that the church had about 250 members when the Bushes began attending services there, and would often serve coffee on Sunday mornings. “Both of them taught in our Sunday school program. Both of them have been involved in our outreach ministries,” he said. The church has grown to about 9,300 members to become the largest Episcopal church in North America, according to its website. Here are some quotes from the 1994 autobiography, “Barbara Bush: A Memoir.” Barbara Bush, the wife of former President George H.W Bush, died on Tuesday at age 92.

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