A Legacy of Lifetime Work – A Legacy of Caring

Mrs. Laura Bush, Former First Lady of the United States, 

will be the featured speaker at the inaugural Legacy Luncheon.  

Mrs. Bush will reflect on her time as First Lady and discuss her memoir 

and # 1 New York Times best seller, Spoken from the Heart. 

The event honors the life and work of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, 

the first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court. 

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Registration & Reception: 11:00 AM

Luncheon & Program | Noon - 1:30 PM

(Guests must be seated by noon)

Arizona Biltmore | 2400 East Missouri, Phoenix

The luncheon will benefit two charitable organizations, the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute and Hospice of the Valley, who are honored to collaborate and present this memorable occasion. 

Co-Chairs for the Legacy Luncheon are Gena Bonsall and Penny Gunning.  Lin Sue Cooney, director of community engagement for Hospice of the Valley and former 12 News/KPNX news anchor, will serve as mistress of ceremonies and will moderate a conversation with Mrs. Bush following her remarks. 

The New York Times Book Review wrote that Spoken From The Heart is a “… deeply felt, keenly observed account of her childhood and youth in Texas — an account that captures a time and place with exacting emotional precision and that demonstrates how Mrs. Bush’s lifelong love of books has imprinted her imagination.”

Like Sandra Day O’Connor, who was raised in Arizona on her family’s Lazy B Ranch, Mrs. Bush stated in her book, “I was born upon the prairie, where the wind blew free, and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures, and where everything drew a free breath.”  In her memoir, she also describes life as First Lady and the post-9/11 White House, when anthrax attacks cut off the mail and she was no longer permitted to take strolls outside the gates.  Polled by The Gallup Organization as one of the most popular First Ladies, Mrs. Bush, with a master’s degree in library science and a former librarian, helped advance national and global concerns during her tenure, including encouraging education and literacy worldwide.