Gerald R. Ford, who at 93 was America's oldest living President, has died. In a statement released by his wife Betty, no cause, place or time of death was named.
Ford had been in and out of the hospital the past several months, and was most recently treated for pneumonia.
"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age," Betty Ford said in the statement, issued from her husband's office in Rancho Mirage, Calif. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."
President Bush called the former leader a "great American" in a statement issued by the White House, and offered sympathy, along with First Lady Laura Bush, to his wife and surviving family.
Among Ford's chief distinctions is that he was never elected to the highest office in the land.
When President Richard M. Nixon shocked the world in 1974 with his resignation as his administration was collapsing under the pressure of the Watergate scandal, Ford – who had replaced Spiro T. Agnew as Nixon's Vice President – took office.
"He assumed the presidency in an hour of national turmoil and division," President Bush said.
"With his quiet integrity, common sense and kind instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the presidency."
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