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[86], Ford published her first memoir in 1978, The Times of My Life, in which she discussed her battle with addiction. Bloomer disliked the surname. There haven't been any more problems than there have been in situations like Tailhook with heterosexuals. July 8, 2011 — -- Betty Ford, wife of former President Gerald Ford and the founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction, has died at age 93. "First Ladies and the Cultural Everywoman Ideal: Gender Performance and Representation. Although she said she believed men and women should give two years of service to the country, she confessed she was very relieved when her sons drew high draft-lottery numbers. Ill health prevented Ford from attending the funeral of former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson's in July 2007, and her daughter Susan Ford Bales instead represented her at the funeral service. During the general election, her busy campaign activity saw the reigniting of her pinched nerve. This is the only time that a major United States presidential candidate's spouse has delivered their concession on their behalf. It was easier to be sorry for me, to feel superior to me, and therefore to root for me, she said. LR: Nancy Reagan, Ladybird Johnson , Hillary Clinton, Rosalyn Carter, Ford, Barbara Bush, The Fords post for a photograph with three other U.S. first couples (George H. W. and Barbara Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter) during at the 2000 White House Historical Association Dinner, Ford attends a National Press Club event in 2001, The Fords with President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush at the White House in 2003 at a celebration President Ford's 90th birthday, Ford and her husband at a June 2005 Gerald R. Ford Foundation dinner, Betty Ford with her husband and President George W. Bush on April 23, 2006, Ford leans over President Ford's coffin during memorial services for him held December 30, 2006 in the United States Capitol rotunda as part of the his state funeral, Ford being escorted by Army Major General Guy C. Swan III during a portion of the state funeral of her late husband, Betty Ford died of natural causes on July 8, 2011, three months after her 93rd birthday, at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage. [5] Warren was an alcoholic and diabetic, and was in poor health. [3][105] In 1999, she and President Ford were jointly awarded Congressional Gold Medals. [34] Ford's popularity often was higher than her husband's. Former First Lady Betty Ford, who captivated the nation with her unabashed candor and forthright discussion of her personal battles with breast cancer, prescription "[62], Dishes that Ford particularly liked serving at state dinners included wild rice,[25][67] Columbia River salmon, souffl, and flamb. In an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes," she talked about marijuana, equal rights for women, abortion and the possibility of a premarital affair for her daughter, Susan. [78] Many of Ford's most significant contributions as an activist came following the Fords' departure from the White House. [36], During her time as first lady, Ford was an outspoken advocate of women's rights and was a prominent force in the Women's Movement of the 1970s. [21] Ford would, ultimately, for most of the nine months she was second lady, be a high-profile public figure. She drew boos from demonstrators against the Equal Rights Amendment in stating, "This exhibit about neglected Americans should give us strength and courage to seek equal rights for women today."[57]. Photos of this moment were published widely in the American press, resulting in Betty Ford somewhat upstaging President Ford in the press. She also organized her own dance group and taught dance at various sites in Grand Rapids, including the Calla Travis Dance Studio. [100], In 1985, Ford received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an annual award given by the Jefferson Awards. [3], On August 9, 1974, after the resignation of Richard Nixon (who was facing the prospect of impeachment and potential removal from office), Gerald Ford ascended to the position of president of the United States,[12] and Betty Ford became the first lady of the United States. [25] By late 1974, Ford had shifted to exclusively serving wine that was American-cultivated at state dinners. "Issues of Openness and Privacy: Press and Public Response to Betty Ford's Breast Cancer. Your cross will be his work. But the main point was, it was best for the country.". [7] Due to conservative backlash from Ford's comments on premarital sex, marijuana use, and abortion in a 1975 60 Minutes interview, President Ford initially quipped to her that her comments had lost him a large number of votes. Ford had weekly meetings with a psychiatrist approximately between August 1965 and April 1967. [56], Ford's involvement in political issues received some conservative criticism. As first lady, she was active in social policy and set a precedent as a politically active presidential spouse. In 2003, Ford produced another book, Healing and Hope: Six Women from the Betty Ford Center Share Their Powerful Journeys of Addiction and Recovery. We were proud to know her. [15], Barbara Bush, a later first lady, opined that Ford, after discovering she was dependent on drugs, "transformed her pain into something great for the common good. The centers philosophy, drawn from the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous, is based on peer interaction and learning to identify and express feelings. As Betty Ford recounted at the time, the wedding was delayed until shortly before the election because, "Jerry was running for Congress and wasn't sure how voters might feel about his marrying a divorced ex-dancer.". [14] The Fords would ultimately be married for the next 58 years, until Gerald Ford's death. Ford's failure to conduct a solo trip is not all that extraordinary, however. She was married to Gerald Ford for 58 years. Betty underwent a radical mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Hospital and inadvertently destigmatized breast cancer by addressing her illness publicly during a [32] On September 4, 1974, weeks after becoming first lady, Ford conducted a press conference in the State Dining Room of the White House in which she remarked that she, "would like to be remembered in a very kind way; also as a constructive wife of a president. Anyone can read what you share. [3], Campaign button in support of President Ford's 1976 presidential campaign with the phrase "Keep Betty in the White House", Betty and Gerald Ford onstage at the 1976 Republican National Convention. [25][26] At the first state dinner that she arranged as first lady, Ford revived dancing as an activity of White House state dinners. As The New York Times notes, Ford had campaigned himself hoarse in the days before the election, so when the time came to admit defeat it fell to Betty to get up in front of the cameras and concede the election she and Jerry had worked so hard towardssmiling graciously the whole time. In 1975, appearing on 60 Minutes, she said she wouldnt be surprised if her daughter, Susan, had a premarital affair; the mail was four to one against her. She was unsuccessful, however, in urging him to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court. The November 12, 1974 state dinner for Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky saw the first instance in which a wine from the Fords' home state of Michigan was served at a White House state dinner, with wine from the Tabor Hill Winery being served. Betty and Gerald Ford (portrayed in The First Lady by Aaron Eckhart) never expected to end up in the White House. [5] At the time they married, Warren worked for his own father in insurance sales.

[3][5], In August 1947, she was introduced by mutual friends to Gerald Ford, a lawyer and World War II veteran who had just resumed his legal practice after returning from Navy service, and was planning to run for the United States House of Representatives. We were proud to call her a friend.". Murray Close/SHOWTIME. Magazines such as Vogue and Ladies Home Journal were planning to publish spreads on Ford in upcoming issues. "In the end, simply by being herself, she made it easier for millions of American women to be themselves," Smith told ABC News. Soon after leaving office, she raised awareness of addiction when she sought help for and publicly disclosed her long-running struggle with alcoholism and substance abuse. The groom was 35; the bride, 30. I do not believe they should be asked to leave the military. [38] In January 1976, Ford made a cameo appearance on the popular television program The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In another instance, she commented, "it's just impossible for me to lie and look someone in the eyes and talk to them. Betty Ford may be the most famous and least known First Lady in history. [8][63] She found out of this upcoming dinner and her responsibility for planning it through a phone call she received within 24-hours after her husband's swearing-in as president. Her mother remarried, to family friend and neighbor Arthur Meigs Godwin, and Bloomer lived with them. [21], Both Betty and Gerald Ford refused to comment on speculation that President Nixon might be forced out of office due to the Watergate scandal. [3] Ford also broke from the administration in giving her support to the prospect of federally-funded child daycare, which the Nixon administration opposed. [90] She served as chair of the board of directors. He just told me hed like to marry me I took him up on it immediately.. View this post on Betty Ford, the outspoken and much-admired wife of President Gerald R. Ford who overcame alcoholism and an addiction to pills and helped found one of the best July 9, 2011 -- Former first lady Betty Ford, whose candor about her own battles with substance abuse helped erase much of the stigma attached to addiction, has After leaving the White House, Mrs. Ford helped reduce the social stigma surrounding addiction and inspired thousands to seek much-needed treatment. The first lady helped the nation restore its faith in the presidency following the Watergate scandal, once saying she wanted the White House to sing again. [65][66], Of the state dinners she planned, Ford said, "From the beginning, Jerry and I tried to make the White House a place where people could have fun and enjoy themselves. She held a White House news conference announcing her support of the Equal Rights Amendment; the mail response ran three to one against her. She was the youngest child and the only girl in a family of three children. The official cause of death was listed as carbon monoxide poisoning despite the garage door being open, but Betty acknowledged later in her life that her father very WebAt 8:49 p.m. local time, President Ford's wife of 58 years, Betty Ford, issued a statement that confirmed his death: "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Her loneliness was compounded by low self-esteem and a debilitating self-consciousness about things like her lack of a college degree. She got a job as assistant to the fashion coordinator for Herpolsheimer's, a local department store. It amounted to as aestheticization of breast cancer and her coverage became the major discursive model for looking at all breast cancer survivors. The 1974 murder of Mrs. Alberta King is not as widely known as the murder of her late civil rights leader son, which took place just six years before in 1968. Betty Ford, a self-proclaimed ordinary woman who never cared for political life but made a liberating adventure out of her 30 months as first lady, died Friday at age This meant that Gerald Ford was away from home for roughly half the year, placing a great burden on Ford to raise their children. Throughout her husband's time in the office of the presidency, she maintained high approval ratings and was considered to be an influential first lady. [82] In November 1977, Ford appeared at the opening session of the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas. [46] The poll gauges Americans' most admired men and women without providing respondents any pre-arranged list of names.

Ford was observed audibly telling her husband "I love you" following a kiss they shared right after he was sworn in as president. I think it had to be done, she wrote. Betty Ford was portrayed as an ideal patient within a success narrative that presented the key sequences of her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in a progressive, linear fashion that inspired optimism. Betty Ford was at his side. Seated (lr): Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Rosalynn Carter, Ford; Standing (lr): Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, President Bill Clinton speaks with the Fords at the White House ceremony awarding the at a 1999 Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony, Ford with other U.S. First Ladies at the 1994 National Garden Gala, which was themed "A Tribune to America's First Ladies". I'm sure I've saved at least one personmaybe more. That same year, she joined First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson and Rosalynn Carter to open and participate in the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas, where she endorsed measures in the convention's National Plan of Action, a report sent to the state legislatures, the U.S. Congress, and the President on how to improve the status of American women. Her candor in talking about and dealing with substance abuse and treatment helped led to an improvement in how Americans talk about such matters. Married and divorced in her 20s, in 1947 her life changed forever when she met Gerald R. Ford. Bush. Hortense and William married on November 9, 1904, in Chicago. ABC News' David Reiter and Michael S. James contributed to this report. And when Mr. Ford died in December 2006, it was Mrs. Ford who announced his death. Ford will be buried alongside her husband, the former president, at his library in Grand Rapids, Mich., she added. Ford's transparency was praised by experts in drug abuse treatment, who predicted that it would make a major and positive impact. [97] As the deadline approached, Ford led marches, parades and rallies for the ERA with other feminists, including First Daughter Maureen Reagan and various Hollywood actors. [62], Among the most notable state dinners the Fords hosted was a July 7, 1976 state dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. her husband's time in the office of the presidency, develop an addiction to prescription medication, 1974 United States House of Representatives election, 1972 United States House of Representatives elections, joint session of the United States Congress, Ford filmed an interview with the television news program, National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam, List of state dinners in the United States, wine from the Fords' home state of Michigan, discrimination in the United States military, Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service, List of breast cancer patients according to occupation, List of first ladies of the United States, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, "Betty Ford Dies at Age 93; A Look Back on the Former First Lady", "Betty Ford, Again Putting On a Brave Face", "Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum", "The 38th First Lady: not a robot at all", "Betty Ford, Former First Lady, Dies at 93", "Betty's life changed dramatically once she became", "Friends Asking: 'Is There A New Betty Ford? As was the case during Gerald Ford's vice presidential swearing-in, Betty Ford held the Bible upon which he placed his hand while taking his oath of office. [86], Funeral services were held in Palm Desert, California, on July 12, 2011, with more than 800 people in attendance, including former president George W. Bush, then-First Lady Michelle Obama, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, herself a former First Lady, former First Ladies Rosalynn Carter, who gave a eulogy,[78] and Nancy Reagan.