Death and state funeral of Gerald Ford grandchildren came to the museum that night and greeted mourners for several hours. Shortly after noon on January 3, Ford's body was removed from the museum and taken by motorcade to Grace Episcopal Church in East Grand Rapids, where a private funeral service was conducted Thousands of people lined the entire motorcade route to the church. During the service, eulogies were delivered by Donald Rumsfeld (President Ford's White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense), former President Jimmy Carter, Richard Norton Smith (former Director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum and a close personal friend of
Death and state funeral of Gerald Ford at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, California, and at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mrs. Ford and her family also received approximately 300 invited guests at a December 29 visitation at St. Margaret's Church. As a mark of honor, Ford's Casket was flown to Washington, and then on to Grand Rapids aboard the VC-25A Presidential Aircraft (29000), which normally serves as Air Force One. The hearse used to carry President Ford's casket flew the American Flag and had the Presidential Seal affixed to the sides. Upon the death of Ford, the nation's flags