Often known as the accidental president, rising to vice president, then to President in just a span of a few months, Gerald Ford is being remembered as a healer of a nation.

Tonight, Washington honors the passing of a great leader. In just a short time as President, only two years, Gerald Ford managed to calm the waters of Washington and the sea of the nation felt the calm as well.

President Gerald Ford (1913-2006) is leaving behind his four children and his loving wife Betty Ford, who as you know is the person responsible for the enactment of the Betty Ford Center, and even during those times President Gerald Ford was her rock. Even as Gerald Ford was important to America, I think Betty Ford will also be loved in history, because she was honest, candid, even during her bouts with breast cancer and alcoholism, she was strong and resilient.

In honor of Gerald Ford, President Bush signed an Executive Order: Providing for the Closing of Government Departments and Agencies on January 2, 2007. A fitting honor, and I’m sure there are even more honors to be bestowed upon Gerald Ford in the days to come.

I think the most remarkable and obvious of all circumstances to befall Mr. Ford, was that he never wanted to become president nor vice president. He just wanted to become The House Speaker. He never sought greatness, but I guess greatness sought him.

Here’s a few snippets of The AP coverage on The Ford Ceremony in Washington D.C.

WASHINGTON Dec 30, 2006 (AP)— With the thunder of cannon and the whistle of a bos’n pipe, the nation’s capital honored Gerald R. Ford’s memory Saturday in funeral ceremonies recalling the touchstones of his life, from combat in the Pacific to a career he cherished in Congress to a presidency he did not seek.

The event, unfolding without words, recalled Ford’s combat service aboard the aircraft carrier USS Monterey. In December 1944, when a typhoon struck the Third Fleet, Ford led the crew that battled a fire sparked by planes shaken loose in the storm, taking actions that some credited with saving the ship and many lives. He sought no award, and received none.

An unselfish man, an ordinary man thrust into the limelight of the presidency, we remember President Gerald Ford. Here in Michigan, we await his arrival in Grand Rapids, we welcome the former College Football player of The Michigan Wolverines, and we welcome an old friend back to his home.

I invite our readers to go to the Gerald Ford Memorial Website to fully understand the greatness of this simple man, who loved above all, God, country, children, and his loving wife.