First Lady Betty Ford Laid To Rest

Grand Rapids has come full circle with the death of former First Lady Betty Ford.  Funeral Services were held today for Mrs Ford at Grace  Episcopal Church in East Grand Rapids.  The former president's wife and political partner was buried by her husband's side at the Ford Museum.

Today would have been Gerald Ford's 98th birthday.  I was still in junior high school when our congressional representative became the  Vice-President and I was not yet in high school when Jerry Ford became Gerald R. Ford and our 38th President of the United States.  It made me feel proud to know that the president was from my hometown.  Gerald R Ford was the right man for the job at the right time.  He restored our faith in government after Watergate.  And although we did probably didn't realize it then, Betty Ford was exactly what America needed, too.  She was open and honest.  She championed the ERA, openly battled breast cancer at a time when no one talked about such things and later took on an adiction for pain pills and alcohol.  Jerry and Betty Ford ascended to the grand stage, but they never forgot their Grand Rapids roots.  Our town and West Michigan is a better place because of them.  Thanks to the Fords' we got to witness history!