President Gerald Ford's Eulogy for President Jimmy Carter
[Editor’s Note: Not long before his own death, President Ford called his good friend President Carter and asked if he would deliver a eulogy at Ford’s funeral. Carter agreed (video) so long as Ford returned the favor. Ford wrote the eulogy before his own death in 2006, and it was delivered at Carter’s funeral last week by Ford’s son Steve. The Ford Foundation extends its sympathies to the Carter family and Center and trusts they find solace in the knowledge it was a life well-lived. The video of Steve’s address is included below.]
Mrs. Carter, Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy; Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, former Presidents and First Ladies, Members of the House of Representatives and Senate, Justices of the Supreme Court, Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen:
In the twilight of his life, Dad and President Carter spoke by phone. Dad asked President Carter if he would deliver a eulogy at Dad’s funeral. President Carter graciously agreed, and he also asked Dad to deliver a eulogy at President Carter’s funeral. Dad was thrilled to agree. After that call, both of them had a good chuckle considering which one of them would return to deliver - in person - that second eulogy!
As you know, Dad passed away in 2006. President Carter’s eulogy for Dad continues to bring comfort and pride to all of us in the Ford Family. Thus and on behalf of Dad, it’s an honor, Mrs. Carter, to share Dad’s eulogy for his friend.
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By fate of a brief season, Jimmy Carter and I were rivals. But for the many wonderful years that followed, friendship bonded us as no two presidents since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. It is said that President Adams’ last words were: “Thomas Jefferson still survives.” Since Jimmy has a good decade on me, I’m hedging my bets by entrusting my own remembrances of Jimmy to my son, Steve.
According to the map, it’s a long way between Grand Rapids, Michigan and Plains, Georgia. However, 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.
This is not to say that Jimmy never got under my skin. But has there ever been a group of politicians that didn’t do that to one another! During our 1976 contest, Jimmy knew my political vulnerabilities, and he successfully pointed those out. I didn’t like it; but little could I know that the outcome of the 1976 election would bring about one of my deepest and most enduring friendships.
In the summer of 1981, the two of us found ourselves together again – this time aboard Air Force One bound for the funeral of that great peacemaker Anwar Sadat. There’s an old line to the effect that two presidents in a room is one too many. Frankly, I wondered how awkward the long flight to Cairo might be. It was a long flight – but the return trip was not nearly long enough. For it was somewhere over the Atlantic that Jimmy and I forged a friendship that transcended politics.
We immediately decided to exercise one of the privileges of a former president – forgetting that either one of us had ever said anything harsh about the other in the heat of battle. Then we got on to much more enjoyable subjects, discussing our families and sharing our experiences in discovering that there is, indeed, life after the White House. We commiserated over the high cost of building presidential libraries, and the even more regrettable fact that most of the fundraising for these otherwise admirable institutions fell to us personally. On the spot, we agreed to participate in programs at each other’s library, beginning with a series of conferences on arms control.
And if that wasn’t newsworthy enough, we told reporters on the plane that a lasting Middle East peace would require the United States to make tough decisions, like confronting the Palestinian issue directly – thereby building on the work to which President Sadat had, literally, given his life. It was the first time, and by no means the last, that our unlikely partnership ruffled feathers in the Washington establishment.
Honesty and truth telling were synonymous with the name Jimmy Carter. Those traits were instilled in him by his loving parents Lillian and Earl Carter. And the strength of his honesty was reinforced by his upbringing in a rural South poised on the brink of social transformation. He displayed that honesty throughout his life - as a naval officer, state legislator, governor, president, and world leader. For Jimmy Carter, honesty was not an aspirational goal; it was part of his very soul.
I think Jimmy wrote more books than any former president. Once, asked if he really enjoyed writing, he replied with that familiar twinkle in his eye, “It beats picking cotton.” I think he enjoyed writing for another reason. As an author, he was under no pressure to tailor his opinions to some political constituency or potential contributor. Both of us experienced the harsh reality that defeat at the polls can be painful. But we also came to know a more important consequence; political defeat and writing can also be liberating – if it frees you to discuss topics that aren’t necessarily consistent with short-term political popularity.
Jimmy learned early on that it wasn’t enough merely to bear witness in a pew on Sunday morning. Inspired by his faith, he pursued brotherhood across boundaries of nationhood, across boundaries of tradition, and across boundaries of caste. In America’s urban neighborhoods and in rural villages around the world, he reminded us that Jesus Christ had been a carpenter. And in Third World villages, he successfully campaigned, not for votes, but for the eradication of diseases that shamed the developed world, as they ravaged the undeveloped one.
Of course, not all of Jimmy’s time was spent building houses, eradicating disease, brokering ceasefires, or monitoring elections. While Jimmy is probably the only former president to conduct a weekly Bible class, I know - for certain - he’s the only former president to perform a duet of On the Road Again with Willie Nelson! Georgia wasn’t just on Jimmy’s mind; it was in his blood. However far he traveled, he never forgot where he came from – or to where now, in the end, he would come home.
Of the many things Jimmy and I had in common, the most important is this: we both married above ourselves – way above. With Jimmy every step of the way was his First Lady from Plains. In a life rich with blessings, none was greater for Jimmy than the love he shared with Rosalynn and the love the two of them shared with their children and grandchildren. Like Jimmy, Rosalynn was and is a symbol of American compassion. Like no other First Lady in our history, Rosalynn Carter is indeed a true citizen of the world.
And she became a beloved friend to Betty and me and to all the Fords. While the Carter and Ford men had a decidedly mixed record when it came to lobbying Congress, Rosalynn and Betty were unbeatable in their advocacy for millions of people whom they brought out of the shadows of despair and shame.
Now the time has come to say goodbye, our grief comforted with joy and thanksgiving for having known and loved this man – this very special man. He was given the gift of years, and the American people and the people of the world will be forever blessed by his decades of good works. Jimmy Carter’s legacy of peace and compassion will remain as singularly unique as it is timeless.
The entire Ford family extends our love to Rosalynn, to Jack, Jeff, Chip, and Amy, and to your entire family. And we add our prayers today to those of tens of millions around the world. May God bless and watch over this good man. May He grant peace to the Carter family as they say goodbye to a man whose life was lived to the fullest with a faith demonstrated in countless good works, with a mission richly fulfilled, and a soul rewarded with life everlasting.
And as for myself, Jimmy, I’m looking forward to our reunion. We have much to catch up on.
Thank you, Mr. President. Welcome home, old friend.
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