The Austin College community joins the Bush family and the nation in remembering former First Lady Barbara Bush, age 92, who died April 17 in Houston.
Austin College alumni and friends can think of Mrs. Bush not only as the wife of George H.W. Bush, 41st president of the United States, but as a member of ’RooNation. She delivered the Commencement address for the Class of 1998 and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Austin College, making her an alumna. (Both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush also hold honorary doctorates from Austin College.)
Mrs. Bush urged the 1998 graduates to be involved in their communities and to volunteer their time and talents on behalf of others. She told them, “By attending Austin College, you’ve been given a tremendous opportunity; so remember to give back a little bit of everything that’s been given to you. Leave the world a better and more beautiful place than when you found it.”
All politics aside, it seems that Mrs. Bush spent much of her life doing just that: trying to leave the world a little better than she found it … May she rest in peace.