Washington – The nation’s capital prepared to honor former President Gerald R. Ford with the pomp and solemnity of a state funeral, as tributes poured in for a self-effacing leader who tried to steer the country through a troubled period.
Memorials for the 38th president, who died Tuesday at age 93, will begin Friday with observances in Palm Desert, Calif., near where he lived, continue in Washington and conclude Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he will be buried in a tomb near his presidential museum.
“My family and I are touched beyond words by the outpouring of affection and the many wonderful tributes we have received following the death of my husband,” the president’s widow, Betty Ford, said in a statement released Wednesday. “The nation’s appreciation for the contributions that President Ford made throughout his long and well-lived life are more than we could ever have anticipated. These kindnesses have made this difficult time more bearable.”
Gregory D. Willard, a friend of the family who served as staff assistant during the Ford administration, said, “The president’s passing was peaceful. He was with Mrs. Ford and her children at the residence in Rancho Mirage.”
The casket containing Ford’s body will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda this weekend, on a simple wooden bier draped in black that was built for Abraham Lincoln’s coffin.
Ford’s remains will be flown to Washington on Saturday afternoon, and his hearse will pause at the World War II Memorial on its way to the Capitol in honor of his comrades in arms. Ford served on a Navy carrier in South Pacific, earning 10 battle stars and attaining the rank of lieutenant commander.
That evening, a state funeral will be conducted in the Rotunda, after which members of the public will be able to pay their respects.
In commemoration of Ford’s more than two decades service in Congress, the casket will lie in repose first outside the House, and then outside the Senate. On Tuesday, a funeral service will be held at Washington National Cathedral.
The new Congress will be sworn in as planned Jan. 4, but flags will fly at half-staff in observance of a 30-day mourning period ordered by President Bush.
Ford took office in 1974 after Richard Nixon was forced to resign to avoid impeachment in the Watergate scandal and when the Vietnam War was winding down to what many saw as a humiliating defeat. At home, unemployment and inflation were high.
He assumed the nation’s highest office without having been elected vice president, since Nixon appointed him to replace Spiro Agnew, who resigned after pleading no contest to financial corruption charges.
“It was not the best of times for anybody to be president of the United States,” said Bob Dole, the former Republican senator from Kansas. “President Ford was able to make the best of it and will be remembered for leaving a legacy of honor and integrity.”
Dole was Ford’s running mate in the 1976 presidential race, in which the Republican ticket closed a wide deficit but lost narrowly to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
Ford’s most controversial act was his pre-emptive pardon of Nixon shortly after taking office. Ford said he made the decision because he was convinced the nation needed to move on.
“It was a tough call either way, and I think he made the toughest call,” Dole said.
Messages of praise continued to arrive Wednesday.
“As a congressman from Michigan, and then as vice president, he commanded the respect and earned the good will of all who had the privilege of knowing him,” Bush said of Ford in Crawford, Texas. “He assumed power in a period of great division and turmoil. For a nation that needed healing and for an office that needed a calm and steady hand, Gerald Ford came along when we needed him most.”
Carter called Ford “an outstanding statesman.”
In Grand Rapids, where Ford grew up, the Gerald R. Ford Museum opened its lobby for 24 hours so well-wishers could offer condolences. And in New York, the Stock Exchange observed two minutes of silence before the start of trading and Nasdaq asked traders to refrain from making trades during that time.
Republicans and Democrats alike praised Ford.
“One of the kindest, most sincere elected officials whom I have known,” said Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Virginia
“When he left office, he had restored public trust in the presidency,” said Vice President Dick Cheney, who served as Ford’s White House chief of staff.
