Jerald Franklin terHorst was an American journalist who served as the 14th White House Press Secretary during the first month of Gerald Ford's presidency.
18 Facts About Jerald terHorst
2.
Jerald terHorst was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 11,1922.
3.
Jerald terHorst dropped out of high school at age 15 to work on an uncle's farm but returned to school when his high school principal successfully persuaded him to graduate.
4.
Jerald terHorst went to Michigan State University on an agriculture scholarship and wrote for the school newspaper.
5.
Jerald terHorst's education was interrupted yet again when World War II broke out; he served in the United States Marine Corps from 1943 to 1946 in the Pacific theater.
6.
Jerald terHorst finally finished his college education at the University of Michigan in 1946.
7.
Jerald terHorst wrote for The Grand Rapids Herald; he wrote for The Grand Rapids Press, the Herald's rival, after graduation until 1951.
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Jerald terHorst returned to active duty with the Marine Corps from 1951 until 1952 before going to write for The Detroit News, first in its Lansing bureau, then in the city room in Detroit.
9.
On November 22,1963, terHorst was in Dallas, Texas, riding in the motorcade during President John F Kennedy's assassination.
10.
Jerald terHorst was applauded for "restoring openness and honesty to the White House" at a time when morale was low, after the Watergate scandal and the Nixon administration's deliberate misrepresentations.
11.
At the time, the story that circulated was that terHorst had resigned because he had been blindsided by Ford's decision and because he had consistently denied to reporters in his daily press briefings that Ford had any intent of pardoning Nixon.
12.
Once the pardon was issued, the story went, Jerald terHorst felt that any credibility that he had earned with reporters had been undermined.
13.
Jerald terHorst was the first-ever recipient in 1975 of the Conscience-in-Media Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
14.
Jerald terHorst returned to The Detroit News as a national affairs columnist until 1981, when he joined the Ford Motor Company as their Washington, DC director of public affairs.
15.
On November 12,1999, Jerald terHorst appeared on a C-SPAN panel regarding Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon.
16.
Jerald terHorst pointed out that the Vietnam War was a "searing ordeal" and was a significant drain on the administration at the time, yet Ford did not act to heal that wound with the haste Ford evinced in moving the Nixon matter off the national agenda.
17.
Jerald terHorst died at age 87 of congestive heart failure in his apartment in Asheville, North Carolina, on March 31,2010.
18.
Jerald terHorst was survived by his four children, Peter, Karen, Margaret and Martha, and by eight grandchildren.