Thousands Pay Tribute to Ford in Michigan

Thousands of people in Grand Rapids, Mich., braved freezing temperatures Tuesday night and Wednesday morning to file past former President Gerald Ford’s casket.

Ford’s casket and his family arrived in his hometown Tuesday after national services in Washington. The 93-year-old former president died Dec. 26, and is to be buried Wednesday on a grassy slope just north of the Gerald R. Ford Museum.

As many as 5,000 people an hour lined up in freezing temperatures overnight to file past Ford’s flag-draped coffin, CBS News reported.

Before the public viewing began, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm spoke at a private ceremony at the museum for former first lady Betty Ford, 88, the couple’s four children, other family members and guests.

She spoke of how Ford represented the area in Congress beginning in 1948, and who ultimately became the 38th president in 1974.

Mr. President, welcome home, Granholm said. We are proud that we will lay you down in our Michigan earth right here.