Before President Jimmy Carter is laid to rest, his colleagues and loved ones are honoring his life.
And that includes the late President Gerald Ford, who had made an agreement with President Carter during their lifetimes to write and read the other’s eulogy at their funeral. But, given that Ford—who died in 2006—was 11 years older than Carter, he previously tapped his son Steven Ford to read the eulogy on his behalf—a promise Steven fulfilled during the Jan. 9 funeral at the National Cathedral.
“By fate of a brief season, Jimmy Carter and I were rivals,” the youngest Ford son read. “But for many of the wonderful years that followed, friendship bonded us as no two presidents since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.”
He continued, reading his father’s words, “According to a map, it’s a long way between Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Plains, Georgia. But distances have a way of vanishing when measured in values, rather than miles. And it was because of our shared values, that Jimmy and I respected each other as adversaries, even before we cherished one another as dear friends.”
