October 16, 2025

By Jim Towey

It has been nearly 17 years since George W. and Laura Bush packed up their belongings, left the White House and returned to Texas. While they may have left public office, they haven’t abandoned public service. They still live their lives for others.

Last week, I visited for an hour with America’s 43^rd president in his Dallas office. The President and Laura have been married for 47 years (although he trails his younger brother Jeb, who celebrated his 50^th wedding anniversary with Columba earlier this year). Both men consider their formidable accomplishments in the public square secondary to the fruits they’ve cultivated from the family tree. Their children and grandchildren are their top priorities. Marriage and family always have been at the heart of the Bush brand.

Going strong

Don’t think President Bush is retired. He’s not. At age 79, he keeps a full schedule, remaining current on national and international matters, and maintaining contact with leaders at home and abroad.  His presidential library and policy institute keep him engaged in numerous policy matters, none dearer to his heart than those supporting America’s wounded warriors.

His 60’s and 70’s have been fruitful and focused. Look at the work product that has poured out of his presidential office in Dallas’ Freedom Plaza, his Southern Methodist University quarters perched atop the library that bears his name, and his private studio where he pursues his latest passion, painting.

He’s authored two major books: his presidential memoir, Decision Points, and 41: A Portrait of My Father, a book he published a few years before his dad’s death. He remains in demand on the speaker circuit but has no desire for engagement with the media. If you’ve seen him on television, it likely was at an inauguration, state funeral, 9/11 commemoration, Texas Rangers baseball game or other gathering to which protocol or personal relationships beckoned.

Artist, author

When our conversation turned to his oil paintings, he became energized. He is justly proud of two other books he authored that feature his artwork: Portraits of Courage, a tribute to America’s warriors from past military campaigns, and Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants, a compilation of success stories of some immigrants to the United States.

A brief review of this portraiture and his current creations demonstrates that even his artwork is about others. He pulled out his iPad and scrolled one by one through the works of his talented brush that beautifully captured scenes from Maine’s sea shore. Some of his most recent pieces are nostalgic, including the ones of numerous Kennebunkport landmarks like the Clam Shack. (After I left his office, I Googled a picture of the famous Clam Shack; the president nailed it.)

I don’t know how he does it. I have the artistic talent of a child. In fact, when I was 32, I underwent routine psychological screening at the seminary where I lived in Mexico and was asked to sketch my childhood home. The best I could do was a square with a chimney, two little windows, a basic door, and some bad flowers out front. The psychologist who reviewed my artwork must have concluded it portrayed a repressed trauma and was a cry for help. Which sort of it was. I desperately need help drawing anything!

But President Bush’s paintings are legit. They seem to feed off his Christian faith. He and I talked about the power of prayer. He still finds time each day for private time with the Lord, just as he did every day as Commander-in-Chief. I will never forget the morning when I went to the Oval Office before 7:00 a.m. to see if he needed anything for a trip I was staffing that day. There he sat, all alone at his desk, reading his daily devotional (which that morning was Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest). Like with his parents, like with Jeb, God comes first.

Spiritual sensibilities

And as he ages and inches closer to the moment when he goes home to God one day, his spiritual sensibilities mature and sharpen. He knows he is getting older. I got a laugh from him when I told him that Mary and I wanted to be the first to wish him a happy 80^th birthday. He fired back, “My birthday isn’t for 9 months!” And I replied, “I know, I know. But we wanted to be the first.”

George W. Bush becomes an octogenarian in July (two days after America turns 250) and Laura follows him in November. Want to age with dignity? Keep an eye on the Bushes.

(The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Aging with Dignity and/or its Board of Directors.)