Barbara Bush’s Grace and Kindness Live On As 100th Milestone Approaches — New Butterfly Brooch and Star-Studded Celebration Shows an Enduring Legacy

Former First Lady Barbara Bush’s style and her philanthropy are in the spotlight once again with Kenneth Jay Lane releasing a commemorative butterfly brooch in Bush’s honor and her beloved Celebration of Reading just revealing its authors for the 2025 fundraiser.

Barbara Bush would have turned 100 on June 8, 2025. (She died in 2018 at age 92.) In celebration of that milestone, Kenneth Jay Lane has formed a strategic partnership with the former first lady’s namesake Houston Literacy Foundation by creating the limited edition brooch to raise funds for her indelible literacy legacy.

Preorders of the $100 pin can be made online at Kenneth Jay Lane or at the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation with that availability beginning in January.

“Mrs. Bush enjoyed wearing jewelry from Kenneth Jay Lane throughout her life, including the signature triple strand pearl necklace and earrings she wore at the 1989 Presidential Inaugural Ball, the original of which is featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History,” foundation president and CEO Julie Finck says in a release.

“We are delighted to partner with Kenneth Jay Lane to celebrate what would have been Mrs. Bush’s 100th birthday next year. We hope that people will honor her legacy by purchasing and wearing the beautiful brooch symbolic of the transformational power of literacy and the joy, hope and freedom that learning how to read can bring to bear.”

Barbara Bush’s Celebration of Reading Authors

To announce the authors who will take the stage at Hobby Center for the Performing Arts on April 1 for the next Celebration of Reading in Houston, Stephanie and Frank Tsuru opened their River Oaks home for an author reveal party. While Neil Bush, who chairs the spring event with his wife Maria, spoke on his late mother’s commitment to expanding literacy, Finck revealed the authors.

Here’s the 2025 Celebration of Reading Lineup:

— James McBride, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

— H. W. Brands, America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War

— Nate Bargatze, Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from A Simpler Mind

— Kelsey Grammer, Karen: A Brother Remembers

Finck also announced that the Texas A&M Singing Cadets will provide a special performance and as is tradition with this fundraiser, there are surprisers in store. More information on the authors and entertainment lineup as well as how to buy tickets can be found here.