George H.W. Bush and Barbara were the longest-married couple in the presidential history
George H.W. Bush and Barbara first met when they were just 16 years old, at a dance held at Greenwich, Connecticut's Round Hill Country Club. George fell in love with the young woman who was dressed in green and red attire, who was Barbara Pierce. After dancing and talking, George and Barbara watched the waltz.
Many weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Barbara and George first crossed paths. George felt compelled to take up arms. In June 1942, the month of his 18th birthday and Andover graduation, he enrolled in the Navy. Before he left for basic training in the summer, he and Barbara experienced their first true kiss, but there was a long period of time apart after that.
Barbara traveled to New Haven with her husband so he could enroll at Yale University. After that, George H.W. Bush and Barbara relocated to Texas where George made the decision to work in the oil business. Barbara stayed by his side during George's victorious campaign for president in 1988, providing humor on the campaign trail and speaking on his behalf at the 1988 Republican National Party Convention. Becoming the longest-married presidential couple in US history, they were wed for 73 years until Barbara passed away in 2018.
