Foresthill
EOG Addicted
Jimmy Carter spoke at Gerald Ford's funeral.
The two became friendly after their White House days.
I can't remember for sure the title of the book I read this in. It was a book about the "Ex-Presidents Club", but I am unsure of the title.
Side note: At one point there were NO members of the the "Ex-Presidents Club" when Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson died with in about a month of each other in late 1972 and early 1973. When Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, he was the only member. Current "members": Carter, Clinton, Bush 43, Obama.
Truman and Herbert Hoover "formed' the ex-president's club when Truman approached Hoover, when they were the only two living ex-Presidents, and said, "We should form a 'club'".
Anyway, Carter's and Ford's friendship developed during a flight back from the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat -- where the two started conversing, and a "bond' developed over their shared experiences of being President. Obviously, it's very difficult to find someone who is understanding or empathetic to the pressures and responsibilities of the job (for example, let's presume one says to the other "you know The Middle East is a real thicket" and the other responds "no kidding" and it goes from there, I'm sure, on a wide range of topics)
I also read some where, maybe that book, that Ford asked Carter to speak at his funeral. Carter was taken aback by the request, because when they were opposing presidential candidates there were bitter rivals. Carter agreed to, contingent on Ford speaking at Carter's funeral should Carter die first, and Ford agreed.