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A Regular Guy Who Showed a Devotion to Local Causes
In 1974, President Gerald R. Ford was surrounded by champion golfers -- from left, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player -- as he waited to tee off at Pinehurst (N.C.) Country Club.
(By Frank Johnston -- The Washington Post)
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Ford grew fond of the desert in the 1960s during vacations when he was a congressman. Parma, then chief of staff for Rep. Bob Wilson of San Diego, invited him for golf outings near San Diego. Ford also hit the links in nearby Rancho Mirage, known as the "Playground of the Presidents," frequented by Nixon and Ronald Reagan and entertainers Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope.
When Ford retired in 1976, Leonard K. Firestone, president of the eponymous tire company, persuaded him to move to Rancho Mirage. Ford bought a one-story ranch house just off the fairway at the Thunderbird Country Club, a private oasis in a land of desert scrub.
Ford's office was next door to the home he shared with his wife. There Ford answered mail, kept up with his duties on several corporate boards, managed investments, planned speaking engagements around the country and set up foursomes for his favorite game.
"He was a very good golfer, actually. He was maligned by the comics, though," said Parma, now 79. "Bob Hope used to say, 'You're never sure which golf course he's going to play until he teed off.' Well, even Tiger Woods hits some out of bounds."
William Whyte, 91, a former lobbyist for U.S. Steel and a member of Ford's "kitchen cabinet," used to book Ford's golf games. Whyte recalled there was intense competition for a chance to play with the ex-president.
"He'd call me at about 11 in the morning and say, 'Line up a foursome,' " Whyte recalled. "In the opinion of some people, since I didn't book them, I was an SOB."
Ford helped raise money for the local Boys and Girls Club and waived his hefty speaking fee for groups of students or the Boy Scouts. He participated in the first Desert AIDS Walk in 1987, supported charities to protect the bighorn sheep and helped fund a children's museum in the desert.
The Fords later spent summers and occasional winter skiing holidays at two homes near Vail, Colo.
Tom Audley was general manager of a Polo Ralph Lauren store in Vail, near where Ford had bought a home. He recalled meeting the ex-president on five occasions. Each time, Ford came in with a present from a friend -- a size-large shirt that Ford would exchange for an extra-large. "He never wanted to tell his friend he needed an XL," Audley wrote in an e-mail reminiscing about the ex-president.
Ford's favorite restaurant in Vail was the Left Bank, a gourmet French restaurant. It was open only for dinner and it did not have an answering machine. Ford would call Audley and ask him to walk next door to the restaurant to make a reservation for him, often for a party of nine.
"I could give you a list of famous folks I've met and helped over the years, and not a single one ever gave me the respect and time that Pres. Ford gave me and my staff," Audley wrote. "Say what you want about him as a president. As a human, I never met a nicer guy (well maybe my dad)."
