PALM DESERT, Calif. – The nation lost a former president, but in Gerald Ford’s adopted home in the Coachella Valley, Calif., folks are mourning the loss of a friend, neighbor and champion of local charities.

“He was such a good man. We’d seen him and Betty in church. He was a fellow Christian,” said Ann Bradley, 46, who attended St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church along with the former president and his family.

“It’s like Rev. (Robert) Certain said the other day . . . if anyone deserves to go to heaven, he does,” said Bradley.

At their church, the Fords graciously chatted and posed for photos with fellow parishioners who asked, but they never complained.

“He was always a part of things. Never on the sidelines,” said Bradley, who was one of thousands who paid their respects at St. Margaret’s, where the 38th President’s flag-draped casket lay in repose from Friday afternoon until yesterday morning.

Ford’s remains were en route from Palm Springs International Airport to Andrews Air Force Base Friday night; a motorcade was to take his casket to the Capitol to lie in state.

In Palm Desert, some mourners who waited in line two or more hours to board special buses to attend the viewing felt rushed as military officials prodded them to keep moving past the casket.

“I could have used a little more time to say a prayer,” said Evelyn Rivers, 82. “He was a good man. He should have been president longer.”

Ford, an avid golfer, and his wife, who founded the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., after fighting her own battle with substance abuse, lent their names and time to a host of charities in the desert region, from museums to AIDS programs.

“For every major charity event, they were there. They were very involved in the community,” said Nancy Jorgensen of Indian Wells, Calif.

The Fords helped raise $5 million to build the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert and millions more for local causes, including the McCallum Theatre, libraries, a domestic violence shelter and a teen outreach program.

In 1987, the former President and First Lady, a former dancer, suited up and hit the pavement in the Desert AIDS Walk.

But Ford was most noted for his annual participation in the Bob Hope-founded Desert Classic charity golf tournament in Rancho Mirage, where he was regarded as a good putter with a modest swing.

“I have seen him in the golf tournaments and I have always admired his quiet character. I felt I wanted to pay my respects,” said Susan Groszek, 57, of Indio, Calif., who works at the Eisenhower Medical Center, where Ford was treated for a respiratory problem last winter.

But not all the mourners were locals. Roy Schrauben, 62, of Portland, Mich., and his wife, Carolyn, 60, were visiting relatives in Riverside, Calif., when Ford died, so they decided to pay tribute. Ford grew up in Grand Rapids, Mich., and represented the region in Congress for years.

“We loved him! He’s from Michigan! He was a great man. We came to show respect,” said Schrauben.

“But I was disappointed it wasn’t an open casket, because I would have liked to see him once more.”

Ford will lie in state Saturday and tomorrow and President Bush will speak at his funeral Tuesday at the National Cathedral. Ford will be buried at his library in Grand Rapids.