Thousands mourn Gerald Ford

WASHINGTON — President Bush bowed his head in silence on Monday before the flag-draped casket of Gerald R. Ford, joining thousands of mourners who paid their respects to the man who guided the nation after the tumultuous Watergate years.

Silence fell under the Capitol dome when the president and his wife, Laura, walked toward the casket, illuminated by spotlights and guarded at each corner by members of a military honor guard. The president, who will eulogize Ford on Tuesday, said nothing during the brief, one-minute visit Monday.

As three days of public viewing drew to a close, Ford's widow, Betty, returned to the Capitol and sat in the Rotunda for about 20 minutes with her three sons, her daughter and their spouses. She clutched the hand of son Michael. Son Steven helped her up when she walked over to the casket, touching it one last time.

Two of the former president's grandchildren, Heather Vance and Tyne Vance Berlanga, embraced after they were overcome with emotion at the casket.

It was a rainy, overcast day, and people waited in line under umbrellas and parka hoods to say farewell to Ford, who died Dec. 26 at age 93.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday at Washington's National Cathedral, where a bell will toll 38 times for the 38th president. Ford will be buried at his presidential museum in Michigan.

On Monday, ordinary Americans started the new year by joining official Washington in paying their respect to the former president.

Karen Olson, 53, of Herndon, Va., said the rain couldn't dampen her determination to see Ford. Her mother, who's now deceased, was on his staff, she said.

"I wanted to come pay my respects. He was a big part of my life," said Olson, who was among the people lined up before 9 a.m. EST to enter the Capitol building. "I have a lot of ties to his family."

"The few times that I met him, he was just really nice," she said.

Both of Olson's parents have passed away.

"I kind of felt like I wanted to be there for them," she said. "There's just an emotional connection there."