Former President George Bush Greets Those Saying Goodbye To Former First Lady
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Martha Greenwood says she received quite a surprise when she went inside St. Martin's Episcopal Church to pay her final respects to former First Lady Barbara Bush.
As she and others walked toward the casket, Greenwood spotted former President George Bush. "We all kind of looked around at each other in amazement that there was the President."
Greenwood says the 41st President and his daughter Dorothy greeted her and other well-wishers. "We were just awed, that's the best way to describe it. We were just awed and blessed, giggly, and tickled we got to meet the President because we knew it was special."
She says she expressed her condolences to the President, and told him the former First Lady and their family are an inspiration.
Mrs. Bush died Tuesday at the age of 92 after suffering from congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Greenwood says she felt compelled to say goodbye to Mrs. Bush one last time. "I think they are a people that tells us a lot of things about how to live life. I heard one of her pastors mention that she was not a person who drew lines that separated people, but that she drew circles that drew people in, and I think that's what drew me here too."
Greenwood was among those who wore Mrs. Bush's favorite color blue and her trademark pearls.
Pauline Cheatham says she did so to pay tribute to her and thank her for all that she has done for this nation and the city the couple loved to call home. "I felt it through the things she had done through the community, the literacy program. I'm an avid believer in reading so that's one thing that touched my heart."
Carol Gold says, "She just gave so much, I just wish we had more Barbara Bushes, but there's just one. She was our shining star."
One woman may have summed it up best when she said "Barbara Bush's pearls may have been fake, but she was real."