Barbara Bush: A look at the legacy of the former first lady

Friends and fans have rushed to pay tribute to former First Lady Barbara Bush, who passed away today (April 18) at the age of 92.

https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/986405191711944704

"Focusing on the family is the best place to start to make this country more literate, and I still feel that being more literate will help us solve so many of the other problems facing our society," she wrote in her 1994 memoir.

She suffered immense loss

The Bush family’s success is well-known. Barbara was only the second woman to be both wife and mother to US presidents (George. H and George. W), but the family suffered, too. 

Barbara's three-year-old daughter, Pauline -- known to her family as Robin -- died of leukemia in October 1953, two months shy of her fourth birthday.

While George wore his grief openly, it was Barbara who suffered in secret, in an attempt to put on a brave face throughout their daughter's treatment. It was at this time, when she was 28, that her brown hair began to grey, ultimately turning white.  

In 1984, she penned a children's book called Fred's Story and donated all proceeds to literacy charities.

She also would set aside time each December to read stories to children.

She is regularly quoted

As a lover of words, Barbara Bush inspired many others with her own. From charity to family, here are some of her most quoted phrases.

"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."

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

"Your success as a family...our success as a nation...depends not on what happens inside the White House, but on what happens inside your house."