GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Members of the Ford family and the President Gerald R. Ford Historical Legacy Trust conducted a wreath laying ceremony Friday morning in honor of President Gerald R. Ford’s 110th birthday.
The Betty Ford Annual Presidential Wreath Laying Ceremony took place at President Ford’s tomb on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
“2006 was a long time away, when dad died, but the memory of him and mom and the investment and the service they tried to give the country, I think carries on at this museum,” Steven Ford, President Ford’s son, said. “As we tell the story here of their lives and how they were raised here in Grand Rapids, and Grand Rapids invested in them as people, their character and their integrity, that sort of lives on here at the museum.”
Former First Lady Betty Ford created this tradition shortly after President Ford’s death in 2006— it has been conducted on her behalf every year since.
“My mother left very specific instructions and so it’s a very easy template to follow because she gave us the instructions and we go with that,” Susan Ford Bales, President Ford’s daughter, said.
The ceremony included the presentation of wreaths on behalf of President Joe Biden, the Ford family, West Michigan healthcare workers, the Ford School of the University of Michigan and the Ford Institute of Albion College.
“It’s just nice that a sitting president honors a deceased president on his birthday and it’s such a special time,” Ford Bales said. “What a wonderful time of year in Grand Rapids. Your weather is shining.”
Zaneta Adams, director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, sang the National Anthem.
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., born Leslie Lynch King Jr., served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977.
President Richard Nixon appointed Ford as the 40th vice president after Spiro Agnew resigned, and Ford succeeded to the oval office when Nixon resigned— He is the only person to become president of the United States without winning an election for president or vice president.
READ MORE: Fun facts about Gerald R. Ford ahead of his birthday
