As the country bids farewell to President George H.W. Bush, words he wrote and spoke about his daughter Robin, who died of leukemia in 1953 at age 3, have been a source of comfort to mourners.
“[I like] to think of Robin as though she were a part, a living part, of our vital and energetic and wonderful family of men and Bar[bara],” Bush wrote to his mother in 1958. “Bar and I wonder how long this will go on. We hope will feel this genuine closeness when we are 83 and 82. Wouldn’t it be exciting at that age to have a beautiful 3 1/2 year-old daughter… she doesn’t grow up.”
The late president, who passed away last week, ends his letter with optimistic energy: “‘My Daddy’ had a caress, a certain ownership which touched a slightly different spot than the ‘Hi, Dad’ I love so much,” he wrote. “But she is still with us. We need her and yet we have her. We can’t touch her, and yet we can feel her. We hope she’ll stay in our house for a long, long time. Love, Pop.”
In a video played at Bush’s memorial, the president stated that he hoped to see his wife Barbara, his parents and his little girl, Robin, when he arrives at Heaven.
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