At the age of 93 years and 165 days, Ford was the longest-lived U.S. president in history at the time of his death, a record which has since been surpassed by George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.

The American people will always admire Gerald Ford's devotion to duty, his personal character, and the honorable conduct of his administration.

[9] The briefing was conducted by Gregory Willard,[10] and also attended by Barbara Owens, spokesperson for the MDW, and by the Riverside County Sheriff.

A personal statement from Betty Ford was read by Willard, and he announced details and answered media questions regarding the state funeral.

[11] President and Mrs. Ford and their family previously chose to have the state funeral and related services conducted in three phases (Palm Desert, California; Washington, DC; Grand Rapids, Michigan), with interment in a previously selected hillside tomb next to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

[13] Ford's casket was flown to Washington and then on to Grand Rapids aboard the VC-25A Presidential Aircraft (29000), which normally serves as Air Force One.

[14] The hearse used to carry President Ford's casket flew the American Flag and had the Presidential Seal affixed to the sides.

[16] At the conclusion of the interment service, Vice President Cheney presented the folded American flag from the casket to Mrs. Ford.

That day, his casket was transported by motorcade from Eisenhower Hospital to St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, California.

Thereafter, long-time staff members of President Ford, including Ms. Penny Circle, Ms. Ann Cullen, Mr. Lee Simmons, and Mr. David Hume Kennerly, were escorted by Gregory Willard to pay their respects at the casket.

Following a departure ceremony at the airport that included musical honors and a 21-gun salute by a cannon battery from 3rd Battalion 11th Marines, the casket was loaded onto a Boeing VC-25 at approximately 9:55 a.m.

The events in Washington, D.C. began on December 30, 2006, when Ford's body, flown aboard the Presidential VC-25A (SAM 29000), arrived at Andrews Air Force Base that evening.

From there, it was driven by hearse in a simple procession, passing through Alexandria, Virginia, to pay tribute to where he lived when in the House, into the capital city, pausing by the National World War II Memorial to pay tribute to his service as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and onto Capitol Hill.

In addition, Ford was piped aboard, a Navy tradition used to honor senior officers, including his position as Commander in Chief.

The hymn "Abide With Me" was played as Ford's casket was carried down the Senate steps to a hearse for the trip to the National Cathedral for a mid-morning service.

As the casket was removed from the hearse, the U.S. Coast Guard Band played Hail to the Chief and Nearer, My God, to Thee.

The service [a] in Washington National Cathedral was officially entitled "In Celebration of and Thanksgiving for the Life of Gerald Rudolph Ford, 1913-2006."

Service music was provided by the cathedral organists; the United States Marine Orchestra (COL Michael Colburn, Conductor); Armed Forces Chorus (LTC John Clanton, Conductor); Cathedral Choirs of Men, Boys and Girls; and opera soloist Denyce Graves.

Only two foreign delegates were presented, which were Shimon Peres (the President of Israel) and Brian Mulroney (the former Prime Minister of Canada).

Upon arrival in Grand Rapids, the university of Michigan Marching Band played ruffles and flourishes, "Hail to the Chief", Michigan's alma mater "The Yellow and Blue", and the university's fight song "The Victors", and a 21-gun salute was rendered as Ford's casket was transferred from the aircraft to the waiting hearse at Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

Also present for the service were the four remaining members of the 30/30 Club, consisting of President Ford's championship high school football team.

On Tuesday night (January 2), the former President's remains lay in repose in the museum's lobby where an estimated 67,000 mourners, despite the cold winter temperatures, stood in line for over 6 hours in order to pay their respects to Ford.

Shortly after noon on January 3, Ford's body was removed from the museum and taken by motorcade to Grace Episcopal Church in East Grand Rapids, where a private funeral service was conducted.

The Army Chorus sang "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic" and a solo of "On Eagle's Wings" sung by Master Sergeant Alvy Powell.

A small group of invited friends joined Mrs. Ford and the family at the Interment Service, including Vice President and Mrs. Richard Cheney, former President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter, former Secretary and Mrs. Rumsfeld, Ann Cullen, Len Nurmi, Penny Circle, Richard Norton Smith, Gregory Willard, Ann Willard, and Ms. Lilian Fisher.

As "Taps" was sounded, 21 F-15E's from Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina did a south-to-north missing man flyby of the casket just as the sun began to set on the western horizon.

Lilian Fisher, Ann Cullen, Leonard Nurmi, Penny Circle, Richard Norton Smith, Gregory Willard, Ann Willard, Douglas "Chip" Emery, Richard Garbarino, Michael Wagner, Janice Hart, and Carol Buck were individually escorted to the casket.

As a special tribute to Master Sergeant Alvy Powell of the Army Chorus and his thirty years of friendship with President and Mrs. Ford, he was escorted by Greg Willard to the casket where he paid his final respects.

Honorary Pallbearers Richard DeVos, Robert Hooker, Jack Nicklaus, Fred Meijer, Leon Parma, Dr. Mary Sue Coleman, David Frey, and the other Honorary Pallbearers and spouses then approached the casket, along with Shelli Archibald, Jordan Lewis, Lee Simmons, Jeannete Simmons, and other guests.