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
Gerald R. Ford Jr. House Michigan. Ford and his family made this house their primary residence from the time of its construction until they moved into the White House on August 19, 1974, following the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon. The house is representative of the period in Ford's career when he rose to become one of the nation's most influential Congressmen, and set the stage for his ascent to the Presidency. Gerald R. Ford Jr. House The President Gerald R. Ford Jr. House is a historic house at 514 Crown View Drive in Alexandria, Virginia. Built in 1955, it was the home of