--- title: George H.W. Bush: First Statement After Barbara Bush's Death description: In a statement following the death of former First Lady Barbara Bush, former President George H.W. Bush recalled her popularity and strength. canonical: https://time.com/5245351/george-hw-bush-statement-barbara-bush-death/ author: Jennifer Calfas article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-18T18:38:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:00:57.191Z article:section: Politics og:title: George H.W. Bush: First Statement After Barbara Bush's Death og:description: 'I always knew Barbara was the most beloved woman in the world' og:url: https://time.com/5245351/george-hw-bush-statement-barbara-bush-death/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb26d4577088f4877/69892e07cf40a8b0e4c4bf7d/barbara-bush-george-hw-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2008 Republican National Convention: Day 2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: George H.W. Bush: First Statement After Barbara Bush's Death twitter:description: 'I always knew Barbara was the most beloved woman in the world' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb26d4577088f4877/69892e07cf40a8b0e4c4bf7d/barbara-bush-george-hw-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Cross the Bushes Off Your Worry List.' George H.W. Bush Honors Barbara Bush, 'The Enforcer' by [Jennifer Calfas](https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Apr 18, 2018 6:38 PM UTC  Former President George H.W. Bush (L) and former first lady Barbara Bush (C) point from their seats on day two of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Xcel Energy Center on September 2, 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The GOP will nominate U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as the Republican choice for U.S. President on the last day of the convention. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Former President George H.W. Bush (L) and former first lady Barbara Bush (C) point from their seats on day two of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Xcel Energy Center on September 2, 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The GOP will nominate U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as the Republican choice for U.S. President on the last day of the convention. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Jennifer Calfas](https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Apr 18, 2018 6:38 PM UTC Following the death of former First Lady Barbara Bush, her husband recalled her as “the most beloved woman in the world” and assured grieving Americans their “love and friendship” was helping the Bush family in the hours after her death. Former President George H.W. Bush, who [held his wife’s hand all day Tuesday before she died](http://time.com/5244311/barbara-bush-george-hw-bush-broken-heart/), released his first statement following Barbara Bush’s death through his spokesman Wednesday. “I always knew Barbara was the most beloved woman in the world, and in fact I used to tease her that I had a complex about that fact,” Bush said in the statement. “But the truth is the outpouring of love and friendship being directed at The Enforcer is lifting us all up. We have faith she is in heaven, and we know life will go on — as she would have it. So cross the Bushes off your worry list.” > [](https://twitter.com/jgm41/status/986662348017537025) Barbara Bush died Tuesday at the age of 92 after she [chose not to seek further medical treatment](http://time.com/5240933/barbara-bush-failing-health/) earlier this week. Former President George W. Bush, son of George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, echoed his father’s sentiment in his own comments following his mother’s death. “I hope you don’t feel sorry for any of us, particularly me,” the 43rd president said at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. ” I am at peace with what took place, and the reason why is my mother was at peace for what took place. She believes in an afterlife, and was joyously looking forward to that afterlife.” > [](https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/986667165435793408) The Bush family’s emphasis on ensuring those grieving the [death of its matriarch](http://time.com/5244192/barbara-bush-death-george-w-bush/) not worry about the ones she left behind comes as politicians, citizens and former Presidents and first ladies share memories and condolences in the wake of Barbara Bush’s death. The [spirited, humorous and witty First Lady](http://time.com/5242261/barbara-bush-dies/) embraced her characteristics and personality. Dubbed “the enforcer” by her family, Barbara Bush and her husband were married for 73 years — the longest of any presidential marriage in history — and raised George W. Bush, who went on to be President himself and, before that, the governor of Texas, and Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5245351/george-hw-bush-statement-barbara-bush-death/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5245351/george-hw-bush-statement-barbara-bush-death/"},"headline":"'Cross the Bushes Off Your Worry List.' George H.W. 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