PALM DESERT – Perched on golf carts and holding American flags, residents today solemnly saluted a man who never wanted to be president. Lining the streets, the long line of black Chevy Suburbans and Cadillacs snaked across the desert floor. The hearse carrying the body of former President Gerald R. Ford arrived to a military color guard in front of Saint Margaret's Episcopal Church, the parish where he and his wife, Betty, prayed for more than three decades after he left the presidency. Betty Ford, 88, appeared frail on the arm of her military escort as she watched the pallbearers carefully lift her husband's casket from the hearse and carry it up the steps of the church. Her four children watched behind her. Other family and close friends held their hands over their hearts as the casket of 38th U.S. president moved passed them and Betty Ford fell into line behind her husband.
The Rev. Dr. Robert G. Certain had an intimate conversation with the Fords, saying a brief prayer over the president's body before the rest of the intimate gathering was allowed into the church. The family had a few private moments alone with the casket as eight busloads of dignitaries and invited guests idled on the street waiting to be invited in. Orange County Assemblyman James Silva and his wife, Connie, along with O.C. state Sen. Dick Ackerman were among the 300 guest invited to the private ceremony this afternoon.