Post Office Releases Gerald Ford Stamp

Simultaneous first-day-of-issue ceremonies were held Friday in the city where Gerald Ford grew up and near the community that he later called home to mark the release of a new commemorative postage stamp honoring the nation's 38th president.

The 41-cent first-class stamp features a lifelike painting of Ford and memorializes his life of public service. He was 93 when he died on Dec. 26, 2006, at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

The U.S. Postal Service has produced 80 million of the stamps, which went on sale Friday.

Postmaster General John Potter joined the president's widow, Betty Ford, and their children, Jack Ford and Susan Ford Bales, for the dedication event at the McCallum Theater in Palm Desert, Calif.

The former first lady did not speak at the ceremony. It was her first public appearance since her husband's death.

Her daughter said of her 89-year-old mother: "She's doing very well for being married to the same man for a long, long time, and it's lonely."

Ford became the 38th president after Richard Nixon resigned in 1974.

Ford was born Leslie King, Jr., on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Neb., but moved to Grand Rapids, Mich., within weeks. After his parents divorced, the future president was renamed after his stepfather.

Traditionally, presidents are honored with a commemorative stamp around the time of their next birthday anniversary, following their death. Postal officials say his family selected the release date.