In his first public comments since his wife's death, former President George HW Bush said today that he used to tease his spouse of 73 years that he had a complex about how much people liked her.
That fact, he said, is buoyed by stories about Barbara Bush's warmth and wit following her death. Tributes have rolled in from around the world, from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to a U.S. Navy commander, who recalled Barbara Bush handing out cookies to sailors on a battleship.
"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," the nation's 41st president said in a statement released today.
His wife died yesterday as their Houston home, where he held her hand, all day, before she died at age 92. They had been married longer than any other presidential couple.
The former president referred to his wife as "The Enforcer," a term of endearment bestowed by her family as she ran their household while he pursued careers in the Texas oil business and later politics and public service.
He said the outpouring of support and friendship toward his wife following her death "is lifting us all up."
Current first lady Melania Trump, who will attend Barbara Bush's funeral on Saturday in Houston, praised her for putting "family and country above all else." Among her greatest achievements, President Donald Trump added in a statement, "was recognizing the importance of literacy as a fundamental family value that requires nurturing and protection."
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