A Houston priest originally from Birmingham officiated the funeral Saturday for former First Lady Barbara Bush.
Rev. Russell J. Levenson Jr., a close friend of the Bush family and the rector at St. Martin's Episcopal Church - the site of Bush's funeral - delivered the homily at the service.
"What you saw was what you got,' Levenson said of Barbara Bush, the Houston Chronicle reported.
"She believed in and practiced the principles of honesty, tolerance, decency, courage and strength. And perhaps above all, humility. She lived accounting to the mantra of the Bush family for many years: don't get caught up in big me."
More from the Chronicle's coverage of the funeral:
Levenson spoke of how she was a highly visible figure in Houston.
"Here in Houston, we saw her at major galas, behind home plate at Astros games, praying here in the pews, catching up with a neighbor while pushing her own buggy in Walgreens," he said.
He said "the least of Barbara's virtues was patience."
"I think Barbara was becoming impatient. She was tired of waiting on the next chapter, so she welcomed it on April 17th," the day she died.
Levenson graduated with honors in 1984 in receiving his undergraduate degree from Birmingham Southern College. He graduated from Mountain Brook High School in 1980 and is former associate rector at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Mountain Brook.
He has been the rector at St. Martin's - the nation's largest Episcopalian church -- since 2007.
In an interview with Houston television station KHOU, Levenson remembered Bush as a "sweet, kind, genuine thoughtful woman."
"I will be honest: She probably doesn't like the fact that there is going to be a lot of fuss, but there is," Levenson told Houston television station KHOU. "This town, this nation, the world loves Barbara Bush."
KHOU reported that Levenson "has been more than a pastor to the Bushes. He's been a close friend. For 10 years, he has prayed with them, dined with them and been invited to their summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine."
"Being their pastor, priest, friend and confidant has been one of the greatest honors of my life," Levenson told KHOU.
AL.com reporter Greg Garrison contributed to this report.