President’s Funeral To Begin Friday; Ford To Lie in State Over Weekend
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WASHINGTON — President Ford’s state funeral will begin Friday in his beloved California, with the late president then to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol over the weekend, a family representative said yesterday.
Giving the first details of funeral arrangements for the 38th president, Gregory D. Willard said events will last until Wednesday, when Ford will be interred in a hillside tomb near his presidential museum in his home state of Michigan.
Ceremonies begin Friday, with a private prayer service for the family at St. Margaret’s Church in Palm Desert, Calif., visitation by friends, and a period of public repose.
On Saturday, Ford’s body will be flown to Washington in late afternoon, his hearse pausing at the World War II memorial in joint tribute to the wartime Navy reserve veteran and his comrades in uniform, Mr. Willard told a news conference in Palm Desert.
The state funeral will be conducted in the Capitol Rotunda that evening and after that, the public will be able to file in to pay last respects. Ford was expected to lie in state until Tuesday morning.
In a departure from tradition meant to highlight Ford’s long service in Congress, his body will also lie in repose outside the main door of the House and, later, outside the main doors of the Senate chamber.
“I know personally how much those two tributes themselves meant to President Ford,” Mr. Willard said.
The last major event in Washington will be Tuesday morning, with a funeral service at the National Cathedral. Ford’s remains will leave shortly after noon for a service and interment near his Grand Rapids, Mich., museum.
It will be only the nation’s third state funeral in more than 30 years.
In a statement, Ford’s wife, Betty, thanked the multitudes who offered condolences after her husband died Tuesday at age 93.
“These kindnesses have made this difficult time more bearable,” the former president’s wife said.