Former US first lady Barbara Bush died Tuesday at the age of 92, triggering an outpouring of praise for the matriarch of a Republican family once at the apex of American politics. Barbara and George H.W. Bush were married for 73 years, and the widower “of course is heart-broken to lose his beloved Barbara,” his chief of staff Jean Becker said in a statement. The ex-president, who is 93 and has been in ill health in recent years, is “determined to be there” for his family while in mourning, Becker added.
