Singing at Ford’s Funeral Is Honor of Lifetime

c. 2007 Religion News Service EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. _ This, I believe, was the farewell that Gerald R. Ford really wanted. President Ford’s state funeral on Tuesday (Jan. 2) at Washington National Cathedral, with all its pomp and pageantry, was befitting a former president. But Congressman Jerry Ford _ as he was known for […]

c. 2007 Religion News Service

EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. _ This, I believe, was the farewell that Gerald R. Ford really wanted.

President Ford’s state funeral on Tuesday (Jan. 2) at Washington National Cathedral, with all its pomp and pageantry, was befitting a former president.


But Congressman Jerry Ford _ as he was known for much of his life _ wanted his funeral to be held in his home parish of Grace Episcopal Church, attended by family and friends.

I’m neither. But I was privileged to witness Wednesday’s service, not as a reporter but as a singer in the choir of the East Grand Rapids church.

Years as a church musician and a practicing Episcopalian _ and an unanticipated vacancy in the choir _ led to my last-minute participation.

The service for Ford was at once familiar and surreal.

Familiar was the reassuring voice of Grace’s former rector, the Rev. Charles Howell, a longtime family friend who spoke the same words four years ago at my mother-in-law’s funeral.

Familiar, too, were many faces in the congregation _ dozens of Grand Rapidians whom I can call by name.

Yet a service for a former president also was unlike anything I’ve experienced, beginning with an eloquent and personal tribute by former President Jimmy Carter and including a robust performance of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” by the United States Army Chorus that nearly peeled the varnish off the pews.

Simply getting to the church on time was a singular experience that for me began days ago with security background checks.


On Wednesday morning, the 29 of us who formed the choir assembled in a nearby parking lot to catch a shuttle bus that drove us to Grace Church through a series of barricades and ranks of police officers on patrol. We wore badges and carried nothing besides a photo ID.

Setting aside the glare of lights and the presence of TV cameras, some of the service felt like an ordinary family funeral.

There were Scripture readings by family members _ in this case Michael and Steven Ford. There were well-known melodies by J.S. Bach deftly played on the organ by two members of another family _ John Hamersma, director of parish music, and his daughter, Mary Baas.

Richard Norton Smith, former director of the Gerald R. Ford Museum and one of three dignitaries who spoke, said planning for Ford’s funeral began 17 years ago. Detailed planning at Grace Church was under way two years ago, and several of the guest choristers were engaged a year ago to be on call.

I had six days and two rehearsals to learn 11 pieces of music by composers ranging from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Raymond Haan. A bit of a challenge, yes, but I was surrounded by 28 accomplished singers.

Earlier in the day, a colleague at The Grand Rapids Press asked me if I was nervous about singing for President Ford’s service.


I wouldn’t say I was nervous. I would say I was deeply honored.

(Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk writes for The Grand Rapids Press in Grand Rapids, Mich.)

KRE/PH END KACZMARCZYK

Editors: To obtain photos of Ford’s funeral in Grand Rapids, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.

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