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Barbara Bush's 14 most memorable, inspiring and incredibly dry quotes

Former U.S. first lady Barbara Bush has died at the age of 92 - REUTERS
Former U.S. first lady Barbara Bush has died at the age of 92 - REUTERS

Barbara Bush, who has died at the age of 92, will be remembered for many things. 

She was a former US first lady and the matriarch of a political family that included two presidents. She was a powerful campaigner for literacy, civil rights and HIV/AIDS awareness, who carried with her an air of grace, wit and charm.

Here is a look back at some of Bush’s most wise and witty words...

1. On life

“At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.”

2. On style

“People who worry about their hair all the time, frankly, are boring.”  

3. On success

“Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people — your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way.”

Barbara Bush: a life in pictures
Barbara Bush: a life in pictures

4. On giving

“Some people give time, some money, some their skills and connections, some literally give their life’s blood. But everyone has something to give.”

5. On Geraldine Ferraro, her husband's opponent for vice president in 1984

“$4 million-I can't say it- but it rhymes with 'rich.'”

6. On human potential

“If human beings are perceived as potentials rather than problems, as possessing strengths instead of weaknesses, as unlimited rather than dull and unresponsive, then they thrive and grow to their capabilities.”

7. On family

“Fathers and mothers, if you have children, they must come first. You must read to your children and you must hug your children and you must love your children. Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not on what happens in the White House, but on what happens inside your house.”

8. On age

"Never ask anyone over 70 how they feel. They'll tell you."

9. On war

“War is not nice.”

10. On her son Jeb running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination 

“There are other people out there that are very qualified and we’ve had enough Bushes.”

11. On luck

“You don’t just luck into things as much as you’d like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it’s friendships or opportunities.”  

Barbara Bush gestures during a photo shoot with celebrities at a party in Los Angeles - Credit: RICK WILKING/REUTERS
Barbara Bush gestures during a photo shoot with celebrities at a party in Los Angeles Credit: RICK WILKING/REUTERS

12. On worrying about what others say  

“Why be afraid of what people will say? Those who care about you will say, Good luck! and those who care only about themselves will never say anything worth listening to anyway.”  

13. On future first ladies

“Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the president's spouse. I wish him well!”  

14. On the needs of others

“Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.”