That's 2 (Gerald Ford)

[BarTopDancer]

Former President Gerald Ford has died at the age of 93

[Not Afraid]

Very sad news. I always liked the Fords.

[sleepyjeff]

Nice guy.....he will be missed.

[CoasterMatt]

He was on my dead pool list - I'm doing pretty good so far.

[MouseWife]

I always liked him as well as his family. I was just reading a brief article highlighting his life. I like him even more.

Rest in peace.

[JWBear]

Rest in peace, Mr President. I wish we had more people like you in office now.

[~MS~]

He had a good life, he did good things as our only unelected pres, my prayers for comfort in their time of sadness for his family. It doesn't matter how old or how great a life, losing a loved one is sad

[mousepod]

I was less than 10 years old when Ford became president. As sick as it sounds, whenever I think of Ford, the first image that pops into my mind is the back cover of a Mad Magazine (#172) from 1975:


Once I got a little older, it was Chevy Chase on SNL reruns that gave me another picture of Ford.
I honestly have no real first-hand memories of him as a president, while I have strong memories of both Nixon and Carter. Watching the coverage right now on MSNBC... I'm still not having any "oh yeah" moments - except that he was a member of the Warren Commission.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

What I recall were mostly the "jokes." The David Fry "First Family" LP albums were huge for me as a kid. The biggest association with Ford, besides the Nixon "thing," was the fact he was always falling down (or at least so, according to the running jokes.) Well, I guess he's taken his final dive. RIP

[Alex]

Originally Posted by CoasterMatt

He was on my dead pool list - I'm doing pretty good so far.

So far? There're only four days left (unless yours is on a different calendar). Are points based on age or ranking on your list?

I can't say that Ford was really much more than a historical oddity. Though it is an interesting exercise in alternative history since if he hadn't pardoned Nixon, Reagan likely never would have been elected.

He was president when I was born, though. So he did lead this nation through its greatest moment.

Some dead president trivia. Not only was he the longest living man to be president, but he was among the longest living after being president.

He fell just 25 days short of living for 30 years as a former president. He was still the second longest coming in behind Herbert Hoover's 31 years and 7 months with the title. Making it to even 20 is pretty uncommon with Martin Van Buren (21 years, 4 months) and John Adams (25 years, 4 months) being the only other two.

We now have three living former presidents. If one of them kicks the bucket before 2010 this will be the first calendar decade since the 1960s in which three current or former presidents have died. If two kick the bucket then it would be the first time four have died in a decade since the 1860s when five died (and they cheated and shot one of theirs). To set a new record with six Carter, Clinton, and both Bushes will have to die in the next three years and four days.

Ford is the second president to die the day after Christmas. Harry Truman did so as well back in 1972. The all time record for a date is three with Jefferson, Adams, and Monroe all dying on July 4. The only other date to have more than one is March 8 sharing Howard Taft and Millard Fillmore.

It is still the case that no current or former president has died in the month of May. Almost 1/3 of current or former presidents have died in the months of June or July.