--- ---  # 'The Glue That Held Us Together.' Jenna Bush Hager Shares Tribute to Grandmother Barbara Bush by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Apr 19, 2018 12:26 PM UTC  Former first lady Mrs. Barbara Bush applauds for Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush during a campaign event in Greenville, S.C. on Feb. 19, 2016. Former first lady Mrs. Barbara Bush applauds for Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush during a campaign event in Greenville, S.C. on Feb. 19, 2016.Sean Rayford—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Apr 19, 2018 12:26 PM UTC Jenna Bush Hager said her family was doing well, if sad, after her grandmother [Barbara Bush](http://time.com/5245351/george-hw-bush-statement-barbara-bush-death/) passed away this week. “I think it’s a mixture of waves of great gratitude for a life well-lived,” Bush Hager said on NBC’s _Today_ show Thursday. “She lived the best life. Of course there’s pain and sadness because she’ll be so dearly missed.” In a loving tribute, Bush Hager called the former First Lady, who died at the age of 92 on Tuesday, the “family’s rock” and the “glue that held us together,” in a letter read on the show. She also shared some anecdotes about her time with her grandmother, recalling how Bush once scolded her and her sister for requesting food at the White House bowling alley. > [](https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/986936505523458048) “You opened the door, telling us under no circumstances could we order food in the White House,” Bush Hager said. “This was not a hotel. You taught us humility and grace.” Former President [George H.W. Bush](http://time.com/money/5241653/barbara-bush-frugal-fashion/) “misses her, of course,” Bush Hager said on _Today_. “But because he loves so fiercely in his old age, he’s trying to be the one to make the jokes. He doesn’t want us to worry about it.” Jenna Bush Hager Shares a Tribute to Barbara Bush on Today ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5246463/barbara-bush-jenna-bush-hager-tribute-death/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5246463/barbara-bush-jenna-bush-hager-tribute-death/"},"headline":"'The Glue That Held Us Together.' Jenna Bush Hager Shares Tribute to Grandmother Barbara Bush","datePublished":"2018-04-19T12:26:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:01:22.409Z","description":"She gave an update on President George H.W. Bush: \"Because he loves so fiercely in his old age, he's trying to be the one to make the jokes\"","url":"https://time.com/5246463/barbara-bush-jenna-bush-hager-tribute-death/","keywords":["Barbara Bush","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt730797d29cd4e309/69892db64ee2629667311808/barbara-bush-health1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt730797d29cd4e309/69892db64ee2629667311808/barbara-bush-health1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barbara Bush Health","caption":"Former first lady Mrs. Barbara Bush applauds for Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush","creditText":"Sean Rayford—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/barbara-bush/","name":"Barbara Bush"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5246463/barbara-bush-jenna-bush-hager-tribute-death/","name":"'The Glue That Held Us Together.' Jenna Bush Hager Shares Tribute to Grandmother Barbara Bush"}}]}] ```