<!-----kanoodle cookies-----> <SCRIPT language="JavaScript1.1" type="text/javascript" src="http://context5.kanoodle.com/cgi-bin/ctpub_adserv.cgi?id=85039742&site_id=85039743&format=conly"></SCRIPT> <!-----kanoodle cookies-----> <body> <body bgcolor="#8F8F6B">
 

Home

StatCounter

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Former US President Gerald Ford dead at 93, attacked by zombie Nixon, eaten by wolves. He was delicious.


Former US President Gerald Ford has died aged 93, his wife, former First Lady Betty Ford has said.

Last month Gerald Ford had become the longest-living US president when he passed 93 years and 121 days, the record held by Ronald Reagan.

Mr Ford, born in Omaha, Nebraska, was the only unelected US president - taking office after Richard Nixon resigned over Watergate in 1974.

Mr Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election.

Gerald Ford lived with Betty, 88, at Rancho Mirage in southern California.

The former president suffered ill health this year and was taken to hospital four times for tests and angioplasty. He suffered a stroke in 2000.

(from wikipedia)


Health problems

As Ford approached his ninetieth year, he began to experience significant health problems. He suffered two minor strokes at the 2000 Republican National Convention, but made a quick recovery.[57] In January 2006, he spent 11 days at the Eisenhower Medical Center near his residence at Rancho Mirage, California, for treatment of pneumonia.[58] President George W. Bush visited former President Ford in April 2006 at Ford's home in Rancho Mirage; the former President, walking with a cane, escorted Bush back outside to his car after visiting for about an hour. While vacationing in Vail, Colorado, he was hospitalized for two days in July 2006 for shortness of breath.[59] On August 15, 2006 Ford was admitted to St. Mary's Hospital of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for "testing and evaluation". On August 21, it was reported that he had been fitted with a pacemaker. On August 25, he underwent an angioplasty procedure at the Mayo Clinic, according to a statement from an assistant to Ford. On August 28, Ford was released from the hospital and returned with his wife Betty to their California home. On October 12, however, Ford entered the hospital yet again for undisclosed tests at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California,[60] he was released on October 16. As a result of his frail health in the past year it was announced on October 17 that Ford was considering selling his home near Vail, Colorado due to the uncertainty as to whether he would be able to return.

Funeral plans for former presidents are written out by the Presidents themselves and kept until their death by the Military District of Washington, which oversees state funerals, and then the funeral is performed to their wishes. Ford requested a state funeral and a burial at his presidential museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Longevity

  • He was, at 93 years of age, one of only four U.S. Presidents to have lived to 90 or more years of age (the others being Reagan, also 93, Herbert Hoover, 90, and John Adams, also 90).
  • Gerald and Betty Ford held the record as the longest-lived First Couple, at ages 93 and 88 respectively. The previous record (calculated using the combined ages of the two spouses) was held by Ronald and Nancy Reagan at ages 93 and 83 respectively at the time of President Reagan's death on June 5, 2004, at which time Gerald and Betty Ford had already tied their record at ages 90 and 86 respectively. Prior to 2003, Harry and Bess Truman, at ages 88 and 87 respectively at the time of President Truman's death in 1972, had held the record for more than 30 years.

Death

Gerald Ford died at the age of 93 on December 26, 2006 at his home in California. At 11:49 pm EST, MSNBC reported that Ford's wife, Betty, has confirmed his death. [1]

"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age," Mrs. Ford said in a brief statement issued from her husband's office in Rancho Mirage. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country." A state funeral is to come later this week most likely.

Trivia

  • Ford, Clinton and Franklin D. Roosevelt are the only three former Presidents who did not have full siblings (no president has been a true only child).
  • Gerald Ford was the 38th President to be born as well as the 38th to serve. Richard Nixon was 37th born, 37th to serve, and the 37th to die. John F. Kennedy was the 39th President born, 35th to serve and the 32nd to die. Four of the 43 presidents (Carter, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush) are still living.
  • After leaving office, Ford did a television public service announcement for the Boy Scouts of America. The advertisement featured a long list of former Boy Scout celebrities, athletes, etc., each stating that when your son joins Scouting there was no guarantee that he would grow up to be a movie star, major league player, astronaut, etc.. At the closing, Ford's appearance intentionally surpasses all the others as he says, When your son joins the Boy Scouts, there's no guarantee that he'll grow up to be President..., but you never know.[citation needed] In the 1990s, the West Michigan Shores Council renamed itself in honor of the former President.
  • Ford was characterized in The Simpsons episode "Two Bad Neighbors," having moved in across the street from the family after George H.W. Bush left in disgust. He gets along famously with Homer, inviting him over to watch football, while the two snack on beer and nachos. The two trip simultaneously on the way to Ford's new home, with both muttering "D'oh!" at the same moment, showing both to be accident prone.
  • Ford is the only U.S. President since Herbert Hoover to not be named Time Magazine's Person of the Year during his term.
  • Ford was once a cover model for Cosmopolitan Magazine.
  • Ford died on the 34th anniversary of the death of another U.S. President, Harry S. Truman.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Former President Gerald Ford Dies", CBS News Interactive, December 26, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-26.
  2. ^ a b c American Presidents, History: Gerald R. Ford.
  3. ^ Gerald R. Ford - Boy Scouts of America, Report to the Nation.
  4. ^ a b "Healing the Nation" Philip Kunhardt Jr., et. al. {1999). The American President, pp. 79-85
  5. ^ Gerald R. Ford Biography - Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
  6. ^ J.R. Greene {1995) The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford (American Presidency Series) (Paperback), p. 2.
  7. ^ a b Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
  8. ^ Doenecke, Justus D., (1990). In Danger Undaunted: The Anti-Interventionist Movement of 1940-1941 As Revealed in the Papers of the America First Committee (Hoover Archival Documentaries), p. 7. Hoover Institution Press
  9. ^ Lieutenant Commander Gerald Ford, USNR - Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, July 13, 2005
  10. ^ Hove, Duane (2003). American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Burd Street Press. ISBN 1-57249-307-0.
  11. ^ "Lieutenant Commander Gerald Ford, USNR," U.S. Naval Historical Center, Official Naval Service Bio, accessed 11 September 2006, http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq60-15.htm.
  12. ^ Steven Ford at the Internet Movie Database
  13. ^ Betty Ford Biography - Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
  14. ^ Barn razing erases vintage landmark - Melissa Kruse, The Grand Rapids Press, pg. D1, January 3, 2003
  15. ^ a b Gerald R. Ford (1913-) - From Revolution to Reconstruction - an .HTML project.
  16. ^ Gerald R. Ford Biography - Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
  17. ^ Address by President Gerald R. Ford, May 23, 2001 - transcript, United States Senate
  18. ^ Gerald Ford's Remarks on the Impeachment of Supreme Court Justice William Douglas, April 15, 1970 - Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
  19. ^ Gerald R. Ford Biography - Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
  20. ^ a b Remarks By President Gerald Ford On Taking the Oath Of Office As President - August 9, 1974
  21. ^ Rockefeller, Nelson Aldrich (1908-1979) - Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
  22. ^ President Gerald R. Ford's Proclamation 4311, Granting a Pardon to Richard Nixon - Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
  23. ^ http://narademo.umiacs.umd.edu/cgi-bin/isadg/viewitem.pl?item=100775 - Images of Presidential Proclamation 4311 of September 8, 1974, by President Gerald R. Ford granting a pardon to Richard M. Nixon.
  24. ^ Gerald R. Ford Pardoning Richard Nixon - The History Place.
  25. ^ The Pardoning President - Paul Bacon, PBS.
  26. ^ Carter's Pardon - MacNeil/Lehrer Report, PBS, January 21, 1977
  27. ^
  28. ^ Secretary of Transportation: William T. Coleman Jr. (1975 - 1977) - AmericanPresident.org.
  29. ^ George Herbert Walker Bush - profile, CNN.
  30. ^ Richard B. Cheney - United States Department of Defense.
  31. ^ Nixon’s Fall and the Ford and Carter Interregnum - Russell D. Renka, Southeast Missouri State University, April 10, 2003
  32. ^ Presidential Vetoes - Office of the Clerk, United States House of Representatives.
  33. ^ Transcript - Whip Inflation Now - October 8, 1974, Miller Center of Public Affairs
  34. ^ Gerald Ford - USA Presidents Info.
  35. ^ Consumer Price Index, 1913-, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
  36. ^ Rhetorical Bankruptcy - Nick Lemann, The Harvard Crimson, November 8, 1975
  37. ^ Pandemic Pointers - Living on Earth.
  38. ^ 1976: Fear of a great plague - Paul Mickle, The Trentonian.
  39. ^ Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Houghton Mifflin.
  40. ^ Trip to China - Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
  41. ^ About Human Rights Watch - Human Rights Watch.
  42. ^ Capture and Release of SS Mayaguez by Khmer Rouge forces in May 1975 - United States Marine Merchants.
  43. ^ 'Squeaky' up for parole - Janet McLaren, New York Daily News.
  44. ^ Spieler, Geri An Unlikely Assassin: Sara Jane Moore and the Plot to Kill the President (accessed June 2, 2006)
  45. ^ John Paul Stevens -Oyez, United States Supreme Court multimedia.
  46. ^ The Conservative Persuasion - Christopher Levenick, The Daily Standard, September 29, 2005
  47. ^ Another Loss For the Gipper - Time Magazine, March 29, 1976
  48. ^ VH1 News Presents: Politics: A Pop Culture History Premiering Wednesday, October 20 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) - PRNewswire.
  49. ^ Election of 1976 (2003) C-SPAN
  50. ^ a b Jimmy Carter, Inaugural address - January 20, 1977, transcript from Seattle University
  51. ^ 1976 Presidential Debates - CNN
  52. ^ Richard V. Allen, How the Bush Dynasty Almost Wasn't, New York Times Magazine, July 30, 2000 - .
  53. ^ [1] - "Certainly few observers in January 1977 would have predicted that Jimmy and I would become the closest of friends," Ford said in 2000
  54. ^ All-Star Celebration Opening the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum - IMDb.
  55. ^ Politicians Who Received the Medal of Freedom - PoliticalGraveyard.com.
  56. ^ President Gerald Ford and Congressman John Lewis Honored as Profiles in Courage - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Summer 2001
  57. ^ Gerald Ford recovering after strokes - BBC, August 2, 2000
  58. ^ Gerald Ford hospitalized with pneumonia - Associated Press, January 17, 2006
  59. ^ Gerald Ford released from hospital - Associated Press, July 26, 2006.
  60. ^ Former President Ford hospitalized again - Associated Press via CNN
  61. ^ "Ford longest-living US president", BBC, November 13, 2006.

Bibliography

  • Ford, Gerald R. (1987). Humor and the Presidency. ISBN 0-87795-918-8.
  • Ford, Gerald R. (1965). Portrait of the assassin (Lee Harvey Oswald). ASIN B0006BMZM4.
  • Ford, Gerald R. (1994). Presidential Perspectives from the National Archives. ISBN 1-880875-04-7.
  • Ford, Gerald R. (1973). Selected Speeches. ISBN 0-87948-029-7.
  • Ford, Gerald R. (1979). A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford. ISBN 0-06-011297-2.

Further reading

Personal memoirs and official biographies

Administration officials' publications

  • Casserly, John J. (1977). The Ford White House: Diary of a Speechwriter. ISBN 0-87081-106-1.
  • Coyne, John R. (1979). Fall in and Cheer. ISBN 0-385-11119-3.
  • Thompson, Kenneth (ed.) (1980). The Ford Presidency: Twenty-Two Intimate Perspectives of Gerald Ford. ISBN 0-8191-6960-9.
  • Hartmann, Robert T. (1980). Palace Politics: An Insider's Account of the Ford Years. ISBN 0-07-026951-3.
  • Hersey, John (1980). Aspects of the Presidency: Truman and Ford in Office (The President: A Minute-by-Minute Account of a Week in the Life of Gerald Ford). ISBN 0-89919-012-X.
  • Kissinger, Henry A. (1999). Years of Renewal. ISBN 0-684-85572-0.

Outside sources

  • Firestone, Bernard J. and Alexej Ugrinsky (eds) (1992). Gerald R. Ford and the Politics of Post-Watergate America. ISBN 0-313-28009-6.
  • Greene, John Robert (1992). The Limits of Power: The Nixon and Ford Administrations. ISBN 0-253-32637-0.
  • Greene, John Robert (1995). The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford. ISBN 0-7006-0639-4.
  • Mieczkowski, Yanek (2005). Gerald Ford And The Challenges Of The 1970s. ISBN 0-8131-2349-6.
  • Werth, Barry (2006). 31 Days: The Crisis That Gave Us the Government We Have Today. ISBN 0-385-51380-1.


--

posted by Monkeyman @ 12/26/2006 Perm Link   Subscribe with Bloglines

Contact SnarkySpot