Dorothy Walker Bush LeBlond Koch (born August 18, 1959) is an American author and philanthropist. She is the sixth and youngest child of the 41st

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, and First Lady

Barbara Bush Barbara Bush (; June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was the first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of the 41st president of the United States, George H. W. Bush. She was previously second lady of the United States fr ...

. Her older brother,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

was the 43rd U.S. president.

Early life

Dorothy Walker Bush was born on August 18, 1959, in

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, and was estimated to be 5,009,302 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, most populous cou ...

. Her father, George H. W. Bush, was the 41st President of the United States, and her mother, Barbara Bush, was the First Lady. She was named after her paternal grandmother, Dorothy Walker Bush. Her brother,

, was the 43rd president of the United States, in office from 2001 to 2009. Her other four siblings are Pauline Robinson "Robin" Bush, who died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

in 1953; former Florida governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

;

Neil Bush Neil Mallon Bush (born January 22, 1955) is an American businessman and investor. He is the fourth of six children of former president George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush (née Pierce). His five siblings are George W. Bush; Jeb Bush, a former go ...

; and

Marvin Bush Marvin Pierce Bush (born October 22, 1956) is an American businessman. He is a son of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush and the brother of former U.S. President George W. Bush, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, ...

. Since her childhood she has spent summers and holidays at the

Bush compound Walker's Point Estate (or the Bush compound) is the summer retreat of the Bush family, in the town of Kennebunkport, Maine. It lies along the Atlantic Ocean in the northeastern United States, on Walker's Point. The estate served as the S ...

, a seacoast estate in

Kennebunkport, Maine Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. The town center, the area in and around Dock Squa ...

. Bush was educated at

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is a private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843 in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from many of the 50 U.S. states, as well as from abroad. International students comprised 14% i ...

, a private all-girl

college-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to state school, public, Independent school, private independent or p ...

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The populati ...

. In 1975, during a visit to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, she became the first person to be publicly

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

since its communist government began discouraging foreign religious practices in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

. She earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

in 1982.

Career and volunteer work

Bush is an event organizer and fundraiser for charities and other

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

s. She co-chairs the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy along with her brother Jeb. She also served as a pioneer fundraiser for her brother's presidential campaigns. She is the author of the book ''My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H. W. Bush'' (2006). She sponsored the commission of , a United States Navy aircraft carrier named after her father, who in World War II was a naval aviator serving on an aircraft carrier. On January 10, 2009, she gave the first orders to the ship's company at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

Personal life

In 1982, Bush married William Heekin LeBlond (b. January 11, 1957). They had two children, Samuel Bush "Sam" LeBlond (b. 1984) and Nancy Ellis "Ellie" LeBlond (b. 1986). They divorced in 1990. In June 1992, she married Robert P. "Bobby" Koch (b. 1960), today a Washington, D.C. lobbyist on behalf of the wine industry. The wedding took place at

Camp David Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...

. They have two children, Robert David (b. 1993) and Georgia ''Gigi'' Grace (b. 1996). Robert P. Koch was an aide to

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

Democratic leader

Richard Gephardt Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House majority lead ...

, and is president of the California-based Wine Institute. He has a substantial equity interest in Central European Distribution Corp., a company that manufactures and distributes

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Dorothy Bush 1959 births 20th-century American women 21st-century American biographers American women biographers 21st-century American women writers American people of Dutch descent American philanthropists Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni Bush family Children of George H. W. Bush Living people Livingston family Miss Porter's School alumni People from Bethesda, Maryland People from Cape Elizabeth, Maine People from Harris County, Texas Schuyler family Writers from Maryland Writers from Texas