By Staff
Michigan's only president, and the nation's only unelected chief executive, Gerald R. Ford, has died, his wife, Betty, said Tuesday. He was 93.
"I have the honor and privilege of representing some of the very same folks in southwest Michigan that President Ford did during his time in Congress," U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, said.
"When one reflects upon President Gerald Ford, the first things that come to mind are honesty, integrity, an ability to rise above when the going got tough – never losing sight of his faith, family and his beloved roots of southwest Michigan.
"His upbringing in Michigan molded the man that Gerry Ford became – growing up in an environment that encouraged him to pursue his vision of what America should and could be.
"He is a Michigan original, and folks throughout the state saw the ordinary man become extraordinary … but he was always our native son.
"All our hearts go out to Betty and the entire Ford family during this difficult time.
"He will soon make his final homecoming, after an extraordinary journey, to be laid to rest….with the fanfare fit for our remarkable, common man," Cass County's congressman commented.
Ford, who lived in Rancho Mirage, Calif., was the longest-lived president, followed by Ronald Reagan, who also died at 93.
Ford followed Watergate in 1974.
His courageous pardon of Richard Nixon perhaps cost Ford the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter, but it helped the nation to heal from the scandal.
Vietnam ended on his watch when Saigon fell in April 1975.