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
Michael Gerald Ford Michael Gerald Ford Michael Gerald Ford (born March 14, 1950) is the oldest of four children of U.S. President Gerald R. Ford and Betty Ford. Prior to his birth, Ford's mother wanted to name him after his father. However, Ford's father had always disliked being called "Junior" and he refused to "inflict the nickname on any son." The Fords settled on his name as a compromise. Ford is an alumnus of Wake Forest (BA, 1972) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (MDiv, 1977). He was the president of Sigma Chi while a student at WFU. President Ford, his father, spoke at Ford's