Barbara Bush’s secret service agents guarded her right up to her burial, remaining by her side even in death at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston over the weekend.
The former first lady, who died Tuesday at 92, spent a lot of time with the agents and regarded them as family, so it was only fitting that they were among the members of her personal detail present until the very last moment, Fox News reported.
“Agents on her detail, they're the ones posted around her house all of the time,” said Thom Bolsch, a former Secret Service agent, according to KTRK.
“They're the ones who bring her shopping. They're the ones who bring her to events. They are family to her.”
Bolsch described Barbara Bush as a “gracious” woman who went out of her way to make her Secret Service agents “feel like part of the Bush family.”
The funeral was a moving ceremony that saw several generations of presidents come together to pay tribute to Barbara Bush.
A photograph that has been widely circulated on social media, shows former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush along with first lady Melania Trump and former first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton all present at the funeral Saturday, CNN reported.
President Donald Trump was not present but, according to the White House, this was “to avoid disruptions due to added security, and out of respect for the Bush family and friends attending the service.”
A wheelchair bound George H.W. Bush said a final goodbye to his wife of 73 years while his son, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, delivered a touching eulogy.
“We learned not to take ourselves too seriously and that humor should be enjoyed and shared,” he said, adding that his mother was “beautiful” until the very end, according to Fox News.