GRAND RAPIDS, MI (January 4, 2007) \u2013 Members of Evangelical Covenant Churches in Gerald Ford\u2019s hometown say the opportunity to pay their final respects to the former president was worth waiting in line for more than four hours, despite temperatures that dipped into the lower 30s on Tuesday night.
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\n\u201cIt was a historical moment that won\u2019t happen again,\u201d says Deb Lund of Thornapple Covenant Church, who moved to Grand Rapids in 1974, when Ford became president. She stood in line from 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. for the few seconds it took to file by the flag-draped casket in the Gerald Ford Museum.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the honor of it all,\u201d says Sue Stubblefield of First Covenant Church. \u201cTo know what kind of man he was, to know what a strong Christian he was made it special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lynne McLaughlin of Thornapple Covenant Church says she wanted her children to experience the moment. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the pomp and circumstance in our country like they do in England or some other countries,\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted my children to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLaughlin waited in line with her 10- and 11-year-old children from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Both had wanted to go when they saw the event on TV, but had second thoughts after waiting in the cold for several hours, McLaughlin says. Still, it was a time they will always remember.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a sense of awe,\u201d Stubblefield says. \u201cIt was incredible to see the color guard. Except for a few times when they blinked their eyes, they didn\u2019t move at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Residents of Grand Rapids and other parts of the nation lined the routes taken by the caravan that transported Ford\u2019s body. Steve Armfield, pastor of Thornapple Covenant Church, waited to watch the procession travel from the funeral service at Grace Episcopal Church to the president\u2019s museum, where Ford was buried.<\/p>\n
Armfield recalls the division in the country when Ford became president following the resignation of Richard Nixon: \u201cThis was a gentle, humble man who brought healing to this country.\u201d<\/p>\n