Inside the church family who knew Barbara Bush as one of their own

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The world knows Barbara Bush as the former First Lady, a mother, a huge Houston's sports fan and America's sweetheart. But at St. Martin's Church, where the Bushes have attended since the 1950s, Pam Bentley and Lee Hunnell knew her for a long time as just another "stitcher."

Inside look at Barbara Bush's long-time church

"Her life was global, her life was political. But when she walked in that room, she was a saintly stitcher. She wanted to be a saintly stitcher. She wanted to just sit down, she wanted to just chit-chat with us and laugh," Bentley said.

Bentley described Mrs. Bush as gracious and kind.

"She was a woman of the world, at home talking with other moms about kids and school and their lives, not hers," said Bentley.