Gov. Raimondo orders flags at half-staff to honor Barbara Bush

April 18, 2018 11:50 am

By: The Associated Press

Email: news@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) _ Democratic Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has ordered flags in the state lowered to half-staff to honor former first lady Barbara Bush.

Raimondo’s order on Wednesday applies to all U.S. and Rhode Island flags at state buildings. It is in accordance with a presidential proclamation.

Bush died Tuesday at the age of 92.

Raimondo says she remembers Bush as a strong woman, unafraid to speak her mind in the national spotlight.

Bush brought a plainspoken, grandmotherly style to Washington, according to her Associated Press obituary. She was one of only two first ladies in American history, along with Abigail Adams, to be the wife and mother of a U.S. president.

Her 73-year marriage to former president George H.W. Bush was the longest of any presidential couple.