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George H.W. Bush writes sweet message about Barbara's 'joyful heart' on her birthday

The former president honored his wife with a message about her legacy of selflessness.
George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush
George H.W. Bush with Barbara Bush in Houston in March 2017.Steve Gonzales / AP
/ Source: TODAY

George H.W. Bush honored Barbara Bush's legacy of selflessness with a sweet message on her 93rd birthday on Friday.

"Sending our gratitude and family love on this special day to all who are helping carry forward the selfless work of one Barbara Pierce Bush,'' he wrote.

"She loved helping others and did so with a joyful heart. Knowing there are so many out there who share her passion puts joy in our hearts."

The message was Bush's latest tribute to his wife of 73 years since her death in April. Barbara Bush had a lifelong commitment to family literacy, which her husband honored by wearing a pair of colorful socks with books on them at the service before her funeral.

"I always knew Barbara was the most beloved woman in the world, and in fact I used to tease her that I had a complex about that fact," Bush wrote in a statement after her death. "We have faith she is in heaven, and we know life will go on — as she would have it. So cross the Bushes off your worry list."

Bush, 93, who has a form of Parkinson's disease, returned home to the family's compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, on Monday after spending a week in the hospital being treated for low blood pressure and fatigue.

Bush had previously been hospitalized for two weeks in April and early May due to a blood infection.

"We can’t express how kind people have been,'' TODAY's Jenna Bush Hager told Megyn Kelly about her grandfather's health.

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