Yesterday, Mrs. Betty Ford issued the following statement from her home in Rancho Mirage, California:
"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald R. Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather - has passed away at 93 years of age. His life was filled with love of God, his family, and his country."
Ford was the 38th President of the United States and also represented the Grand Rapids area in Congress for 26 years.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor and the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids are offering extended hours for those who wish to express their sympathy to the Ford family, including signing a condolence book. The family also requests that any contributions be made to the Gerald R. Ford Memorial Fund (information on funeral services will also be posted there).
Get a whole lot of information about the life and legacy of Ford from the very well done Special Report: Remembering Gerald Ford by Booth Newspapers. You can also view (and perhaps add to) the entry on Gerald R. Ford at Wikipedia.
Photo by Marion S. Trikosko. LC-U9- 30765B-6A
UPDATE December 28, 2006
Cathleen at For my amusement only... has posted a few photos from the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids. You can also get some recent Gerald Ford pics on Flickr including a nice tribute to Ford the athlete and a set of photos of tributes by Jeffrey K.
Also Josh Leo from Wandering West Michigan takes a reflective visit to the Ford Museum.
On the far, far fringe comes Gerald Ford's UFO Legacy. Ford called for investigation as a Congressman "In the firm belief that the American public deserves a better explanation than that thus far given by the Air Force, I strongly recommend that there be a committee investigation of the UFO phenomena. I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFOs and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment of the subject."
For more photos, see Saying Goodbye to President Ford on Michigan in Pictures.
UPDATE January 3, 2007
You'll also want to check out Photos, videos and accounts of President Gerald Ford's funeral on Absolute Michigan.
5 Comments
One of the photos Jeffrey took had a line I liked: Please rest in peace knowing you lifted our country out of a dark time.
By the time I got there in the late afternoon, they had cleaned up all the mementos that people had brought down. There was a pretty steady stream of people coming and going to sign the books- and the media presence was amazing. 10 different satellite trucks, reporters everywhere asking for quotes. I managed to duck Dawson Bell, but I did get a few pictures of him.
Ford was the 38th President not the 39th as listed on this website.
Hey, thanks for the catch, Breton. Not sure how that got past the fact-checker. Oh wait, I know him - he is way overworked and underpaid.
Gerald r ford was a good serving man! He came at a time when america was struggling and in the need of help! My hero! And he is drop dead gorgeous!
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