[30]

Marriage
Bush met Barbara Pierce at a Christmas dance in Greenwich in December 1941,[31] and, after a period of courtship, they became engaged in December 1943.[32] While Bush was on leave from the Navy, they married in Rye, New York, on January 6, 1945.[33] The Bushes enjoyed a strong marriage, and Barbara would later be a popular First Lady, seen by many as "a kind of national grandmother".[34][e] They had six children: George W. (b. 1946), Robin (1949–1953), Jeb (b. 1953), Neil (b. 1955), Marvin (b. 1956), and Doro (b. 1959).[15] Their oldest daughter, Robin, died of leukemia in 1953.[37][38]

College years
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.[15] He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was elected its president.[39] He also captained the Yale baseball team and played in the first two College World Series as a left-handed first baseman.[40] Like his father, he was a member of the Yale cheerleading squad[41] and was initiated into the Skull and Bones secret society. 