Bush met Barbara Pierce at a Christmas dance in Greenwich in December 1941, and, after a period of courtship, they became engaged in December 1943.
While Bush was on leave from the navy, they married in Rye, New York, on January 6, 1945.
The Bushes enjoyed a strong marriage, and Barbara would later be a popular First Lady, seen by many as "a kind of national grandmother".
The marriage produced six children: George W. (b. 1946), Robin (b. 1949), Jeb (b. 1953), Neil (b. 1955), Marvin (b. 1956), and Doro (b. 1959).
Their oldest daughter, Robin, died of leukemia in 1953.

Bush enrolled at Yale College, where he took part in an accelerated program that enabled him to graduate in two and a half years rather than the usual four.
He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was elected its president.
He also captained the Yale baseball team and played in the first two College World Series as a left-handed first baseman.
Like his father, he was a member of the Yale cheerleading squad and was initiated into the Skull and Bones secret society.
He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in economics and minoring in sociology.
Bush met Barbara Pierce at a Christmas dance in Greenwich in December 1941, and, after a period of courtship, they became engaged in December 1943. While Bush was on leave from the navy, they married in Rye, New York, on January 6, 1945. The Bushes enjoyed a strong marriage, and Barbara would later be a popular First Lady, seen by many as "a kind of national grandmother". The marriage produced six children: George W. (b. 1946), Robin (b. 1949), Jeb (b. 1953), Neil (b. 1955), Marvin (b. 1956), and Doro (b. 1959). Their oldest daughter, Robin, died of leukemia in 1953.
Bush enrolled at Yale College, where he took part in an accelerated program that enabled him to graduate in two and a half years rather than the usual four. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was elected its president. He also captained the Yale baseball team and played in the first two College World Series as a left-handed first baseman. Like his father, he was a member of the Yale cheerleading squad and was initiated into the Skull and Bones secret society. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in economics and minoring in sociology.
George H. W. Bush