It’s been a while since Barbara Bush, former First Lady of the United States, passed away in the spring, but a lot of people still are living on the hope she bequeathed to them. Throughout their long lives in the public eye, George and Barbara Bush mourned the loss of their daughter, Robin, at age 3, and talked openly of their confident faith that they would see her again when they moved from this world. This cartoon by Marshall Ramsey of the Jackson, Mississippi, Clarion Ledger captured that spirit. Indeed, it made such a powerful connection with the human spirit – especially with parents who have lost a child – that it quickly went viral. It was cited on TV networks coverage of Mrs. Bush’s funeral and was reprinted and re-tweeted across the land. Marshall Ramsey wrote a column in USA TODAY about the impact of his cartoon, quoting a letter from a father who had lost a college-age daughter to a car accident: “My heart swelled as I took note of (the cartoon) because of our own loss and our desire to be able to see our own daughter again.” After describing her loss he said: “I just hope that at some point in time we are able to greet her as indicated by your touching artwork. Thank you for such a heartwarming moment.” Surely there is no greater pain for a parent than losing a child.
Ramsey said he’s drawn many obituary cartoons, usually well received, but what made this one different? “Because I didn’t approach it as a cartoonist. I drew it as a dad.” He had read about the Bushes and the loss of their daughter. “Here was a person who had everything, yet had suffered the hardest loss a parent can face. I thought about my own kids, how much pain I would feel if I were her and how I would hope for healing.” And then the idea came to him. It worked because it connected with the hope and faith that sustains us all. “Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto Me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)