(Rancho Mirage) - Former First Lady Betty Ford passed away today at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage. Family friend and chairman emeritus of the Ford Foundation, Marty Allen, confirmed her death. She was 93. Her cause of death has not yet been announced.
Mrs. Ford was one of the nation's most outspoken first ladies. Her candor on such issues as abortion and premarital sex made headlines in 1970s as women were first achieving equality. “Having babies is a blessing, not a duty,” she once stated, taking a stance opposite of the president.
Mrs. Ford was best known for publicly admitting her addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs after family members performed a formal intervention. After a weeklong detoxification process, she entered the Long Beach Naval Hospital’s drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. At the facility she had to room with five other women and work the program like any other patient, including completing daily chores such as cleaning restrooms.
Realizing that women did not have adequate resources to deal with substance abuse issues, she co-founded the Betty Ford Center in 1982, an intensive inpatient and outpatient drug treatment center in Rancho Mirage, California, that caters to rich and famous and the average alike. She considered it one of her greatest achievements.
Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45), who represents the Coachella Valley, issued this statement in response to Mrs. Ford’s death:
"Today, our nation lost a woman of immeasurable grace and purpose, former First Lady Betty Ford. I was deeply saddened to learn of her passing and my thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ford family, her staff and all those who loved and admired her as I did.
"Betty Ford was a remarkable woman who shared a special partnership with the love of her life, President Gerald Ford. Her accomplishments were groundbreaking and her gentle and kind nature were matched only by her resilience and strength.
"As one of the pioneers in the battle against substance abuse, she helped save countless lives from addiction. I will always be profoundly grateful for the help my family received from her and the Betty Ford Center that guided us through our own struggle with substance abuse. Betty Ford was a shining example for women everywhere and her many achievements will live on in the hearts and minds of not only the American people who she loved so dearly but also in the people she touched throughout the world."
Mrs. Ford was born in Chicago on April 8, 1918. She married Gerald Ford two weeks before his first election to Congress in 1948, where he served 13 terms before he was asked by former President Richard Nixon to become his Vice President after the resignation of Spiro Agnew. Nixon later resigned and Ford finished out his term but was not elected in his own right in 1976.
Mrs. Ford used her years as First Lady to promote the Equal Rights Amendment, and despite Republican Party concerns, maintained a higher approval rating than her husband. Mrs. Ford was awarded with the Congressional Gold Medal in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991.
At the time of the former president’s death on December 23, 2006, the Fords had been married for 58 years. Mrs. Ford is survived by three sons and one daughter as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A funeral in the Palm Springs area is being planned for some time in the next few days. Her body will be flown back to Michigan where she will be buried next to her husband on the grounds of his presidential library.
Comments