Barbara Bush died this week on April 17, 2018 in Houston, Texas, at age 92. She was the wife of George H. W. Bush who was the 41st President of the United States and served as First Lady from 1989 to 1993. Previously, she also served as Second Lady from 1981 to 1989. Her six children include George W. Bush, the 43rd US President, and Jeb Bush, the 43rd Governor of Florida [1].
Barbara Bush was born in New York City as Barbara Pierce on June 8, 1925. She met George Herbert Walker Bush at age 16, and the two married in Rye, New York, in 1945, while he was on leave during his deployment as a Naval officer in World War II. They moved to Midland, Texas, where he entered political life, in 1950.
As First Lady of the United States, Barbara Bush worked to advance the cause of universal literacy, founding the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.
During her funeral in Houston today (April 21, 2018), Mrs. Bush was remembered as “the first lady of the greatest generation.”
To express my farewell for Barbara Bush and pay my respect for her warmness, wit, and wisdom, I constructed the following dozen number oddities in her honor:
1. The sum of the numbers assigned to the letters of Barbara Bush based on the letters of the English alphabet in alphabetical order equals 93 and coincidentally, Barbara Bush died in the 93rd year of her life. (Sadly, she will be missed on her next, 93rd birthday.)
2. Furthermore, Mrs. Bush died on 4/17/18 where the sum of 4, 17, and 18 equals 39, which is the reverse of 93.
3. Interestingly, Mrs. Bush died on 4/17 where 4 times 17 equals 68, her birth date, June 8 (6/8).
4. Moreover, 417 equals 3 times 139 where these two prime numbers differ by 136 which equals twice 68 (again, Mrs. Bush’s birth date, 6/8).
5. Additionally, 68 is twice 34 and 139 is the 34th prime number where the reverse of 34, namely 43, equals the sum of the numbers assigned to the letters of Barbara.
6. The prime factors of 93 (Barbara Bush), namely 3 and 31, add up to 34 too.
7. Coincidentally, Mrs. Bush’s oldest son, George W. Bush, served as the 43rd US President.
8. Further, 43 is the 14th prime number where the reverse of 14, namely 41, signifies the 41st Presidency of Bush Senior.
9. Also, Mrs. Bush was born on 6/08 and died on 4/17 where 608 and 417 differ by 191, which coincidentally is the 43rd prime number.
10. The sum of the digits of Mrs. Bush’s birthday expressed as 6/8/1925 equals 31 where 3 times 31 gives 93 (Barbara Bush). Additionally, the reverse of 31 is 13 where the 13th prime number is 41 signifying Bush Senior’s 41st Presidency.
11. If 6/8/1925 is split as 68, 19, and 25, the sum of these three numbers equals twice 56 where 56 equals the sum of the numbers assigned to the letters of Mrs. Bush’s birth last name, Pierce.
12. Lastly, Mrs. Bush died this year at 92 on 417 where the reverse of 417, namely 714, equals 2 x 3 x 7 x 17 and interestingly, these four prime numbers add up to 29, which is the reverse of 92. Further, if April 17 is expressed in day/month date format as 17/4, 174 equals 2 x 3 x 29 where 2, 3, and 29 add up to 34, which is the reverse of 43 (Barbara).
I hope you rest in peace, Barbara Bush.
[1] Barbara Bush, Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Bush
Aziz Inan is currently a professor of electrical engineering teaching at the Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering at University of Portland and he can be reached at ainan@up.edu.
