Betty Ford, wife of the 38th President of the United States Gerald R. Ford died on Friday, July 8 at the age of 93. As a strong advocate for women’s rights and founder of the Betty Ford Center, she supported breast cancer research and care and addiction treatment.
A dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company before her marriage, she became a role model for every succeeding presidential wife in the White House setting an example of individualism and a right to freely express opinions independent of the president shaping the first lady role. She was known for her honesty and kindness. According to a statement on the Betty Ford Center website, “Patients often affectionately refer to the Betty Ford Center as ‘Camp Betty.’ That would always bring a smile to Betty’s face. At the center, she was never Mrs. Ford. She was Betty.”
She was memorialized on Tuesday by 800 friends and family members. Her body was to leave her adopted Southern California home for the last time on July 13, headed to Grand Rapids, Mich., where her late husband President Gerald R. Ford, who died in 2006, is buried.
“Or as she called him, my boyfriend of 58 years of marriage,” said her son, Michael Ford, during a two-hour service held at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you that our beloved mother Betty Ford has passed away at 93 years of age. She died peacefully today at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Mother’s love, candor, devotion, and laughter enriched our lives and the lives of the millions she touched throughout this great nation. To be in her presence was to know the warmth of a truly great lady. Mother’s passing leaves a deep void, but it also fills us with immeasurable appreciation for the life we and Dad shared with her,” said a statement from her family.
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who attended the service said in a statement, “Millions of women are in her debt today and she was never afraid to speak the truth even about the most sensitive subjects, including her own struggle with alcohol and pain killers. She got some criticism, but I thought she was wonderful and her honesty gave to others every single day.”
Others present during the service included former President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, first lady Michelle Obama, former first lady Nancy Reagan, former California first lady Maria Shriver, former California Gov. Pete Wilson, former President Richard Nixon’s daughters Tricia Nixon-Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower, President Lyndon Johnson’s daughters, Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Bird Johnson Robb and Robb’s husband, former U.S. Sen. Charles Robb.
