U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth E. Mapp offered a message of condolence Tuesday evening on the passing of former First Lady Barbara Bush.
“On behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands, I send my heartfelt condolences to the entire Bush family, as well as to our fellow Americans, as we mourn the loss of Mrs. Bush,” the Governor said.
Governor Mapp said Mrs. Bush epitomized grace and dignity.
“I had the great honor to meet her personally when she visited St. Croix with then Vice President George H.W. Bush,” Governor Mapp said. “She was a strong matriarch of the highest integrity. Her candor and mannerisms were, in fact, strikingly similar to those of my own maternal grandmother.”
The Governor also praised her efforts as a pioneer in the national literacy movement.
“She truly believed in and understood the importance of public service,” Governor Mapp said. “I join with Virgin Islanders offering condolences today to the Bush family and to the nation.”