News obituary: Jerald terHorst, former press secretary for President Ford, dies in Asheville

Washington — Jerald terHorst, a former Detroit News reporter and columnist who served briefly as President Gerald Ford’s White House press secretary before resigning in protest over the pardon of President Richard Nixon, died of congestive heart failure Wednesday evening in Asheville, N.C. He was 87.

Mr. terHorst was surrounded at his apartment in a retirement community by his four children at the time of his death, according to his son Peter terHorst.

“Dad was always a fighter, but his physical condition had weakened,” he said. “He persisted.