Barbara Bush dies at age 78

I'm normally not the type of guy who says nice things about Republicans, and I'm especially not the type of guy who would write a memorial column for a Republican. But things are different when it comes to former First Lady Barbara Bush. She died from a stroke at 10:23 p.m. Sunday, and the world is a sadder place because of it.

While I've never been a fan of Barbara's son, George W, she was always a class act. When it was time for business, she was strict. When it was time to relax, she was at ease in almost any setting. Whether she was visiting school children or arguing politics, she was a great lady.

She was known mainly as George H. Bush's wife, but did a lot of things behind the scenes. Some of her best-known charity work was with the Neema Children's Center, a group based in Africa. With her support over the years, this charity has been successful in keeping the spread of AIDS among the African people to a minimum.

A lesser-known charity she was involved in was the Naperville Vietnam Veterans Coalition Foundation, a group that helps soldiers critically injured in the Vietnam War. The politics of the Vietnam War made it something that was often forgotten when it came to helping veterans. Most charities that support veterans only fund the more popular wars, like WWI, WWII, and the Korean War.

Charity work is something people don't think much of when it comes to the First Lady, but it's often more of a difficult task than what the president handles. For instance, George H. Bush's work as president ended after four years, while Barbara Bush's work with charities continued until the day she died.

Perhaps Mrs. Bush's favorite cause was the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She personally knew the struggles of illiterate children, because as she stated in her 1995 autobiography, "Barbara Bush: A Memoir", a learning disorder kept her from reading well until she was in the fourth grade.

Barbara Bush even had her own national radio program at one time, called "Mrs. Bush's Reading Time". The program stressed the importance of reading aloud to kids. Unfortunately, the program ended after a year, because of low ratings.

Barbara Bush was born Barbara Pierce on June 8, 1925. She grew up in Cape Cheektowaga, NY, and met her husband in the same place. Their first child, Robin, died after a long bout with whooping cough in 1953, but the Bushes went on to have four sons and a daughter: George W, Jeb, Wally, Stew, and Tatiana.

We will all surely miss Barbara and her contributions to society. Let's hope other spouses of presidents follow her lead in making this country great, instead of just being the lady standing next to the president, smiling and waving.

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