Maine community bids fond farewell to Barbara Bush

Kennebunk, Maine – About 200 people gathered on a Maine beach —some with dogs in tow — on Sunday to remember Barbara Bush, who with her husband, former President George H.W. Bush, spent years at their summer home in Kennebunkport.

Barbara Bush died on Tuesday at home in Houston at the age of 92. She was laid to rest on Saturday at her husband’s presidential library in Texas.

At the Maine memorial, some also donated children’s books to be given to two local libraries and a children’s hospital in her memory.

“That’s our farewell to Barbara,” said Diane Denk, who helped organize the memorial and often saw Bush on the beach in the early morning with her dogs.

“Barbara was just a real stand-up lady. She was a good lady,” she said. “She was very philanthropic, she and George, and they just, they loved their community, they loved the state, they donated to children’s hospitals, they donated to just about every philanthropic cause around here.”

People gathered in a large circle to share stories about their encounters with Bush on the beach. She used to walk her dogs there with a Secret Service agent following behind.

One participant made clear that Bush indeed always picked up after her dogs; it wasn’t the job of the Secret Service.

Many people signed a large poster board that featured a photo of the former first lady and several beach walkers and their dogs. Some also tossed flowers into the sea.

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This story has been corrected to show the memorial was in Kennebunk, not Kennebunkport.