Dorothy Bush Koch, George H.W. and Barbara’s only living daughter, was born in 1959. Barbara and George had six children together, including another daughter who died at a very young age. Dorothy and her parents were close, and Doro will no doubt miss her father terribly now that he has passed away, less than a year after her mother Barbara Bush died at the age of 92. Here’s everything you need to know about Doro Bush.
1. Dorothy Was Named After Her Grandmother
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum Audiovisual ArchiveDora Bush with George H. W. and Dorothy Walker Bush in 1962.
Dorothy Bush Koch was named after her grandmother, Dorothy Walker Bush. Dorothy W. died in 1992, after suffering from a stroke at the age of 91. George Bush flew to Washington from Greenwich to be by his mother’s side, and Dorothy B. accompanied him for the heartbreaking goodbye.
Dorothy was born in 1959, six years after her sister Robin passed away. She was a light in her parents’ lives, as they still dealt with the terrible blow of the death of their oldest child. She attended school at a private all-girl college-prep school in Connecticut called Miss Porter’s School. She earned a Bachelor’s in sociology from Boston College in 1982.
2. She Was the First Person Baptized Publicly in China Since It Began Discouraging Religious Practices
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum Audiovisual Archive)George W. Bush and his sister, Dorothy “Doro” Bush, visit their father’s Liaison Office in China in this photo, taken in the summer of 1975.
In 1949, China began to discourage foreign religious practices. When Dorothy was visiting Beijing in 1975, she was the first person publicly baptized in China since that policy had started.
3. Her First Husband Was William LeBlond
GettyDoro Bush Koch, the sister of President George W. Bush, and Jenna and Barbara Bush, the president’s daughters, wait for the opening of the evening session of day one of the 2004 Republican National Convention August 30, 2004.
Dorothy and William “Billy” Heekin LeBlond married in 1982. They had two children: Samuel LeBlond and Nancy Ellis “Ellie” LeBlond Sosa. They divorced in 1990. At the time she got remarried, she was working in the special events department of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington.
Sam LeBlond, who is now in his mid-30s, said that he learned the importance of friendship and respect for others from his grandparents, Parade reported. He said he has fond memories of all his family gathered together in Maine, and he truly respected his grandfather. “I mean, I look at his ridiculously distinguished career — but even after that, he could have done anything, [but] he embraces his Points of Light Foundation and that’s based on service and service to others. And it’s just kind of amazing — that selflessness.”
Sam also joked that when they played horseshoes, his grandfather threw them with a smooth flight and no rotation. He would joke, “Mr. Smooth they used to call me…”
According to LeBlond’s LinkedIn, he works as an account manager with Premium Distributors in D.C. He previously worked for Reyes Holdings for nine years, and he graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in history in 2006. In 2016, Sam and Lee Bobbitt were married in Lubbock.
Ellie, Doro’s daughter, actually appeared in one of George H.W. Bush’s campaign ads in 1988, running across a yard into her grandfather’s arms, The Maine Magazine reported. Ellie and Nicholas Sosa were married in 2014, The Hill reported. According to UNE.edu, Ellie now works for a Boston-based health care non profit and is a certified holistic health counselor. She also teaches fitness in Boston and around the world.
In 2016, Ellie told The Maine Magazine that she admired her grandparents’ marriage. “They’re still just so in love and you can see it in everything they do. My grandfather doesn’t say as much these days, but the facial expressions? We’re always laughing when we’re around him. We’ll be at the table and he’ll make a facial expression or some funny movement with his hands, and Ganny just rolls her eyes… They act kind of like they’re 22 years old.”
4. Doro’s Marriage to Robert Koch Was Called a ‘Romeo & Juliet’ Romance
GettyDorothy Bush Koch listens to her husband Bobby Koch, 17 August 1992.
In 1992, she married Robert P. “Bobby” Koch, a marriage that some coined a “Romeo and Juliet” type of match. Before they were married, Koch was a top aide for House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, Baltimore Sun reported. Gephardt, a dedicated Democrat, was a frequent critic of Bush. Their wedding was at Camp David and many referred to it as a “stealth wedding.” Only 130 people were invited, mostly family members. Even Vice President Dan Quayle was not invited. About 75 friends were invited to the rehearsal dinner. Her dress was designed by Arnold Scaasi, which at the time cost between $2,000 to $5,000. She was registered at Bloomingdale’s. She and Bobby met through mutual friends.
Dorothy and Robert have two children: Robert David Koch and Georgia Grace “Gigi” Koch. According to Gigi’s LinkedIn, she worked as a summer intern to the House Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives in the summer of 2017. She was also a special events intern for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in 2016, and a marketing intern for Lindsay Cadillac in 2015. She is graduating with a bachelor’s in International Relations from the University of Southern California in 2018. Her brother, Robert Koch, is 25.
Bobby Koch is the CEO and President of the Wine Institute, the public policy advocacy association of the California wine industry, representing more than 1,000 wineries. He is not one of the well-known “Koch brothers.”
5. Doro Bush Koch Raises Money for Charity & Wrote a Book about Her Dad
GettyDorothy “Doro” Bush Koch is with her father during the visitation of former first lady Barbara Bush.
Dorothy wrote a book about her dad that was published in 2006: My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H.W. Bush.
She spends much of her time fundraising for nonprofit organizations and charities. She served as co-chair for the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, and was also a fundraiser for her brother’s presidential campaigns.
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