Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb__ A Tour of Presidential Gravesites - Brian Lamb [70]
This astronaut at the museum’s entrance represents Ford’s commitment to America’s space program
Gerald Ford continued to lead an active life after leaving the White House. He completed his memoirs, frequently contributed to the nation’s op-ed pages, and remained involved in Republican Party politics. In August 1999, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his inauguration, President Ford was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House. Presenting the medal to President Ford, President Bill Clinton said, “When he left the White House after 895 days, America was stronger, calmer, and more self-confident. America was, in other words, more like President Ford himself.”
Mr. Ford died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, on December 26, 2006, at the age of ninety-three, as our longest-living former president. Only Herbert Hoover had a longer post-presidential life. Mr. Ford’s official funeral ceremonies took place over five days, beginning with a public viewing in Palm Desert, California. A national day of mourning was declared by President George W. Bush as Gerald Ford’s body lay in state in the U.S. Capitol. A memorial service attended by the four living presidents—Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush—at Washington’s National Cathedral honored the former president with cannon and pealing bells. President Ford’s body was then flown to his presidential museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where 10,000 mourners stood in line for an all-night viewing of the presidential casket. A final memorial service was held at nearby Grace Episcopal Church, where he and Betty had been married, followed by internment at the museum.
Touring the Gerald R. Ford Museum or Library
The Gerald R. Ford Museum is located on the west bank of the Grand River in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is open to the public daily. The Ford Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Admission to the museum is $7.00 for adults, $6.00 for senior citizens, and free for children under age sixteen.
To reach the museum from Cadillac or Muskegon: Take Interstate 296/U.S. 131 South and exit at Pearl Street. Turn left on Pearl at the light to the museum entrance. Turn left into the parking lot.
From Lansing: Take Interstate 196 West, also known as the Gerald Ford Freeway. Take the Ottawa/Downtown exit and continue to Pearl Street. Turn right on Pearl Street and right into the parking lot.
From Kalamazoo: Take U.S. 131 North and exit at Pearl Street. Turn right onto Pearl to the museum entrance and north into the parking lot.
The Gerald R. Ford Library is situated on University of Michigan’s North Campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is open Monday through Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., except federal holidays.
To reach the library: Exit U.S. 23 onto Geddes Road heading west. Geddes Road becomes Fuller Road. Follow Fuller until you reach Beal Avenue. Make a right turn onto Beal Avenue. The first driveway on the right is the entrance to the parking lot. The library has free parking but visitors need to obtain a permit from the front office.
For additional information
Gerald R. Ford Museum
303 Pearl Street NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504-5353
Phone: (616) 254-0400
Fax: (616) 254-0386
www.ford.utexas.edu
Gerald R. Ford Library
1000 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Phone: (734) 205-0555
Fax: (734) 205-0571
www.ford.utexas.edu
This piece of the Berlin Wall was given to Gerald Ford
“ . . . Ford had prided himself on seeking common ground. ‘It’s all right to be a partisan,’ he told one youthful White House aide, ‘but not a zealot.’”
—Richard Norton Smith
In the penultimate years of his life, Gerald Ford often decried