Editing Laura Bush (section)

==Early life and career==
Laura Lane Welch was born on November 4, 1946, at Midland Memorial Hospital in [[Midland, Texas]], the only child of Harold Bruce Welch (1912–1995) and Jenna Louise Welch (1919–2019, {{nee}} Hawkins).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBwN7yqmF7sC&pg=PT26|title=Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady|isbn=9780385518970|last1=Kessler|first1=Ronald|date=April 4, 2006|publisher=Crown }}</ref><ref name=bio>{{cite web |url=http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Bush-Laura.html |title=Laura Bush Biography |access-date=May 24, 2008 |publisher=Advameg, Inc |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613225949/http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Bush-Laura.html }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=naSsDAAAQBAJ&q=Jenna+Louise+Hawkins+Welch+July+24%2C+1919&pg=PA42-IA1|title=Ranking the First Ladies: True Tales and Trivia, from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama|first=Ian Randal|last=Strock|date=July 5, 2016|publisher=Carrel Books|isbn=9781631440601|via=Google Books}}</ref> She is of English, French, and Swiss ancestry.<ref name=biolb/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/the-allamerican-icons-with-british-roots-7166158.html |title=The all-American icons with British roots |newspaper=[[London Evening Standard]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025222346/http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/the-allamerican-icons-with-british-roots-7166158.html |archive-date=October 25, 2012}}</ref>

Her father was a house builder and later successful real estate developer, while her mother worked as the bookkeeper for her father's business.<ref name=bio/><ref name=support>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/democracy/bush/stories/laura/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514064711/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/democracy/bush/stories/laura/ |archive-date=May 14, 2008 |title=Laura Bush: A supportive but behind-the-scenes spouse |access-date=May 25, 2008 |publisher=CNN |year=2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Early on, her parents encouraged her to read, leading to what would become her love of reading.<ref name=bio/> She said, "I learned [how important reading is] at home from my mother. When I was a little girl, my mother would read stories to me. I have loved books and going to the library ever since. In the summer, I liked to spend afternoons reading in the library. I enjoyed the ''[[Little House on the Prairie]]'' and ''[[Little Women]]'' books, and many others ... Reading gives you enjoyment throughout your life."<ref name=reading/> Bush has also credited her second grade teacher, Charlene Gnagy, for inspiring her interest in education.<ref name="Bush Biography">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Laura Bush |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of World Biography |location=Detroit |volume=25 |year=2005 |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Laura_Bush.aspx |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314022604/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Laura_Bush.aspx |url-status=live |archive-date=March 14, 2014}}</ref>

On the night of November 6, 1963, two days after her 17th birthday, Laura Bush ran a [[stop sign]] and struck another car, killing its driver.<ref>{{cite news|date=February 15, 2004 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/15/books/review/15TONERT.html?ex=1392181200&en=012678f2554876f8&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND |author=Robin Toner |title='The Perfect Wife': The Un-Hillary |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513222229/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/15/books/review/15TONERT.html?ex=1392181200&en=012678f2554876f8&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND |archive-date=May 13, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=[[BBC News]] |place=Washington |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4876760.stm |author=Matthew Davis |title=Inside (the) private world of Laura Bush |date=April 5, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514164832/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4876760.stm |archive-date=May 14, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> The victim was her close friend and classmate Michael Dutton Douglas. By some accounts, Douglas had been Bush's boyfriend at one time, but she stated that he was not her boyfriend at that time but rather a very close friend.<ref name=snopes>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/laura.asp|title=TRUE: Laura Bush Fatal Car Accident : snopes.com|date=December 20, 2015|work=snopes}}</ref> Bush and her passenger, both 17, were treated for minor injuries.<ref name=crash/> According to the accident report released by the city of Midland in 2000, in response to an open-records request, she was not charged in the incident.<ref name="crash">{{cite news|work=[[USA Today]] |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/e1698.htm |title=Mrs. Bush ran stop sign in fatal crash |date=May 3, 2000 |access-date=May 24, 2008 |archive-date=October 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009064157/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/e1698.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[[:File:Laura Bush police report.jpg|Midland police report]]</ref> In 2000 Laura Bush's spokesman said, "It was a very tragic accident that deeply affected the families and was very painful for all involved, including the community at large."<ref name=crash/> In her book ''[[Spoken from the Heart]]'', she said that the crash caused her to lose her faith "for many, many years".<ref name="nyt_biography">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/books/28laura.html?_r=0 |title=Laura Bush Opens Up About Crash |work=The New York Times |date=April 27, 2010 |access-date=April 30, 2010 |first=Anahad |last=O'Connor |archive-date=April 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429053236/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/books/28laura.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

She attended James Bowie Elementary School, San Jacinto Junior High School, and [[Robert E. Lee High School (Midland, Texas)|Robert E. Lee High School]] in Midland.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bushchildhoodhome.org/family_history |title=History and research |publisher=George W. Bush Childhood Home, Inc |access-date=May 24, 2008 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130024852/http://www.bushchildhoodhome.org/family_history |archive-date=January 30, 2009 }}</ref> She graduated from Lee in 1964<ref name="BrittanicaLauraBush">"[https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9345365/Laura-Welch-Bush Laura Welch Bush] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509230219/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9345365/Laura-Welch-Bush |date=May 9, 2008 }}." ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''</ref> and went on to attend [[Southern Methodist University]] in [[Dallas]] where she was a member of [[Kappa Alpha Theta]].<ref name=timeline/> She graduated in 1968 with a [[Bachelor's degree|Bachelor of Science]] degree in education.

After graduating from SMU, she began her career as a [[school teacher]] at Longfellow Elementary School in the [[Dallas Independent School District]].<ref name="timeline">{{cite news|publisher=CBS|access-date=May 24, 2008|title=Laura Welch Bush|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/politics/inauguration/family.pdf|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304234447/http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/politics/inauguration/family.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> She then taught for three years at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, a [[Houston Independent School District]] school in [[Houston]], until 1972.

In 1973, Bush attained a [[Master of Science]] degree in [[Library Science]] from [[the University of Texas at Austin]].<ref name=timeline/> She was soon employed as a librarian at the Kashmere Gardens Branch at the [[Houston Public Library]]. The following year, she moved back to [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] and took another job as a librarian in the [[Austin Independent School District]] school [[Dawson Elementary School|Dawson Elementary]] until 1977. She reflected on her employment experiences to a group of children in 2003, saying, "I worked as a teacher and librarian and I learned how important reading is in school and in life."<ref name=reading>{{cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030520-17.html |title=Mrs. Bush's Remarks at Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries Grant Awards |access-date=May 25, 2008 |date=May 20, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514222533/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030520-17.html |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |url-status=live}}</ref>