Columba Bush | |
|---|---|
 Bush in 2018 | |
| First Lady of Florida | |
| In role January 5, 1999 – January 2, 2007 | |
| Governor | Jeb Bush |
| Preceded by | Anne Selph |
| Succeeded by | Carole Crist |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Columba Garnica Gallo (1953-08-17)August 17, 1953 (age 72) León, Guanajuato, Mexico |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingGeorge |
| Website | Official Twitter |
Columba Bush (néeGarnica Gallo;Latin American Spanish:[koˈlumbaɣaɾˈnikaˈɣaʝo]; born August 17, 1953) is a Mexican and American[1] philanthropist.[2][3] As the wife of former Florida GovernorJeb Bush, she served as theFirst Lady of Florida from 1999 to 2007.
Columba Garnica Gallo was born in the community of Arperos, in the city of León, Guanajuato, Mexico,[3] the daughter of José María Garnica Rodríguez (1925–2013), amigrant worker and waiter from Arperos,Guanajuato, and Josefina Gallo Esquivel (May 8, 1920 – August 14, 2016), fromLeón, who were married in February 1949. Columba's father emigrated to the United States in 1956 when she was 3 years old[4] and her parents divorced in 1963.[5] Following the departure of her father, Columba and her mother remained in León.[5][6]
Garnica attended Instituto Antonia Mayllen, a privateCatholic school in thehistoric center of León.[5]
She metJeb Bush in 1970 in León when she was 16 years old and he was 17.[3] Bush was teachingEnglish as a second language and assisting in the building of a school in the small nearby village of Ibarrilla[7] as part of a class atAndover calledMan and Society.[3][4]
Garnica and Bush married on February 23, 1974, inAustin, Texas,[8][9][10] at the chapel in theCatholic student center on the campus of theUniversity of Texas at Austin.[4][6] At the time of the wedding, she did not yet speakEnglish fluently and a part of the wedding ceremony was conducted in Spanish.[3]
In 1988, she appeared in aSpanish-language campaign commercial for her father-in-law,George H. W. Bush, in hiscampaign for President[11] and she presented a nominating speech for him, also in Spanish, at theRepublican National Convention in New Orleans.[3] But, for the most part, she tends to be uninvolved in politics.[12]
AsFirst Lady of Florida, Bush advocated for Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, theCenter on Addiction and Substance Abuse, and Arts for Life, a group that gives scholarships to young artists.[3]
Columba Bush has been active in promoting the arts. In 1999, she worked with Arts for a Complete Education/Florida Alliance for Arts Education (ACE/FAAE) to createArts for Life!, a program devoted to increasing the importance of art in the education system.[1]
As First Lady she put together various art exhibitions focusing onSalvador Dalí,Diego Rivera, andFrida Kahlo, and Florida artists.[3]
Bush has been active in programs to warn young people of the dangers of drug abuse.[13] She has worked on treatment and prevention programs such as theNational Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). She has served as co-chair of the NIAAA initiative, Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, and has served on the board of the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse atColumbia University.
As First Lady, she visited shelters, studied reports on addiction in adolescence, put together exhibitions, and connected donors with charities.[3]
In 2003, as First Lady of Florida, Bush was part of a delegation toRome to celebrateJohn Paul II's 25th anniversary asPope, atSt. Peter's Basilica.[3]
Bush used her platform to become an advocate on issues like domestic violence, substance abuse, and the arts, and she has been involved with organizations that advocatesubstance abuse treatment and prevention.[1]
During her husband's2016 presidential election campaign, Bush visited women's shelters inIowa[14] andNew Hampshire.[15]
Columba has been known to be quiet and reserved, and before marrying Jeb Bush, she had wanted to live a quiet life.[1]
Bush and her husband reside inCoral Gables, Florida.[16] Columba Bush's relationship with her mother was the subject of a brief profile in the bookMamá: Latina Daughters Celebrate Their Mothers by María Pérez-Brown. Her sister, Lucila del Carmen Schmitz (born October 1951), and her mother live near her in theMiami area.[4][5]
The couple has three children:George Prescott Bush (born April 24, 1976, inTexas), Noelle Lucila Bush (born July 26, 1977, in Texas), and John Ellis "Jeb" Bush Jr. (born December 13, 1983, in Miami).
Their eldest son, George, went toGulliver Preparatory School, studied atRice University, and earned aJuris Doctor degree from theUniversity of Texas School of Law. He is anattorney,U.S. Navy Reserve officer,real estate investor, and politician, who served as the Commissioner of theTexas General Land Office.[17]
In addition to her three children, Columba Bush has four grandchildren: two by George P. and two by Jeb Jr.[18]
Columba Bush has two older brothers, including Francisco Jose Garnica (born December 1949), who currently lives inPuerto Vallarta, Mexico,[6] and a sister, Lucila del Carmen Garnica Gallo (born in 1951).
A practicingRoman Catholic, she is a member ofRegnum Christi.[19] In 2007, with her husband Jeb, she attended the Regnum Christi Family Convention inAtlanta.[19]
Mrs. Bush became more active in philanthropy, raising money for young people to attend cultural events like performances of Ballet Folklórico de México, a favorite troupe of hers.
It's true that she has adopted first-lady-worthy causes, working with the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, and Arts for Life, a group that gives scholarships to young artists. By all accounts, she advocates earnestly and effectively, visiting shelters, studying reports on addiction in adolescence, putting together exhibitions, and connecting donors with charities.
Columba Garnica Gallo was 16 and John Ellis "Jeb" Bush was 17 when they met in the central Mexican town of Lewn. Jeb was teaching English and helping to build a school as an exchange student from Phillips Academy, a prestigious prep school in Andover, Mass.
Her brother Francisco lives in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, relatives said.
Before the Andover boys and teacher John J. Patrick helped build the two-room schoolhouse in Ibarrilla, outside of León, in their two-month trip in 1971, the village had no school at all — only a local woman who volunteered to teach the children who were interested in learning rudimentary reading and math skills.
For the past 15 years, I have worked in partnership with the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence to raise awareness regarding the impact of domestic violence in our families while increasing private resources for life-saving services for victims and their children, who often flee their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anne MacKay | First Lady of Florida 1999–2007 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
