As first lady, Betty Ford was active in social policy and shattered precedents as a politically active presidential wife (Time considered her "the most since Eleanor [Roosevelt . "[66] Her openness about her cancer and treatment raised the visibility of a disease that Americans had previously been reluctant to talk about. [3][24] Ford was the only individual in attendance at the funeral not directly ingrained in the civil rights movement, with the exception of Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. "When other women have this same operation, it doesn't make any headlines," she told Time. In 2003, Ford produced another book, Healing and Hope: Six Women from the Betty Ford Center Share Their Powerful Journeys of Addiction and Recovery. He later worked for the Continental Can Company, and after that for the Widdicomb Furniture Company. [25] The first of these came only a week into Ford's presidency, hosting King Hussein of Jordan on August 16, 1974. Her role as a public health advocate distinguishes her as one of the most influential women of the latter part of the twentieth century.[104]. The march was led by prominent feminist leaders, including Ford, Bella Abzug, Elizabeth Chittick, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. [3], During the campaign, many Ford supporters wore campaign buttons with phrases like "Betty's Husband for President in '76" and "Keep Betty in the White House". [5] At the time they married, Warren worked for his own father in insurance sales. In addition, she was a passionate supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). [33], Ford was also unapologetically pro-abortion rights. Betty Ford, the former First Lady of the United States who died on July 8 aged 93, exemplified the American virtue of positive thinking to overcome illness and addiction, and used her . The Los Angeles lair, as well as her home in Carmel, were known to have stuffed-animal rooms. Gerald and Betty Ford on their wedding day, October 15, 1948 In 1947 a friend introduced her to Gerald R. Ford, Jr., a young lawyer who had served as Navy lieutenant during World War II. [3], Spiro Agnew resigned as vice president on October 10, 1973. [90] She was an active member of the Junior League. [94] The amendment did not receive enough states' ratification. [3] President Ford died, aged 93, of heart failure on December 26, 2006, at their Rancho Mirage home. This large number of state dinners was, in part, due to great interest from foreign dignitaries in visiting the United States for a state dinner amid the United States bicentennial celebrations. However, not everything Ford did as first lady broke tradition. [34] Ford's popularity often was higher than her husband's. For state dinners held using this tent, the receptions, entertainment, and dancing portions of the evenings were still held inside of the White House. She also traveled to Iowa before its caucus, and delivered a speech on behalf of the president (who had been unable to make his planned appearance) in which she labeled herself as being his political partner. Ford will be buried alongside her husband, the former president, at his library in Grand Rapids, Mich., she added. [69] At the state dinners of the Ford presidency, the president and first lady always led off the dancing, and dancing often lasted beyond midnight. From a young age, she had a passion for dancing. Among the revelations in the biography: 1. [101], On July 14, a second service was held at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, with eulogies given by Lynne Cheney, former Ford Museum director Richard Norton Smith, and Ford's son Steven. Because she suffered, there will be more healing. Betty: A Glad Awakening. She also, ultimately agreed to attend rehab at the Naval Regional Medical Center in Long Beach, California. [3][19] Ford registered herself at the hospital on April 11, 1978. The Washington Post reported that Ford's disclosure of alcoholism came as a surprise to a number of Ford's close friends, who had regarded her as merely a social drinker and were oblivious to her drinking problem. Read the rest of "Betty Ford, champion of women's rights . ABC News' David Reiter and Michael S. James contributed to this report. [33] On June 30, 1976, Ford attended the opening of "Remember the Ladies", a Revolutionary War-era women's exhibit. Her father's tragic death. "Ford. This led her to seek psychiatric assistance. Following her White House years, she continued to lobby for the ERA and remained active in the feminist movement. [3], In November 1975, it was reported by the Associated Press that Ford's husband's advisors, who had previously worried her outspoken comments would hurt him in the 1976 presidential election, were now recognizing her popularity and desiring for her to have a greater role in the campaign. White's death was confirmed Friday by Jeff Witjas, her longtime agent and friend. LOS ANGELES (AP) Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, whether as a man-crazy TV hostess on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" or the loopy housemate on "The Golden Girls," has died. 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.". [7], In May 1975, during a four-day trip,[62] Ford met with former Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam Nguyn Cao K to discuss Southeast Asia refugees. In private, she triumphed over serious personal adversity. [99] On May 8, 2003, Ford received the Woodrow Wilson Award in Los Angeles for her public service, awarded by the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution. [3], Between Labor Day and election day, for the general election campaign, Ford conducted multi-stop speaking tours, during which she visited western states (including California, Colorado, Texas, and Utah) as well was northern midwest states including Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. In 1978, the Ford family staged an intervention, and forced Betty to confront her addition to alcohol and pain pills. [75], During the Fords' 1976 trip to mainland China, when being shown an exhibition by a Chinese arts college dance group, Ford decided to join the dancers. 4 Mrs. Ford later reasoned, "I thought that there are women all over the country like me. JAKE TAPPER, KATIE HINMAN and MARTHA RADDATZ, founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction. [24] Ford's attendance at the funeral was, in actuality, a break from the administration. [21] That same year, her husband brought up the possibility that he might retire from congress in 1977, which would make the 1974 United States House of Representatives election the last he would run in. The couple moved frequently because of his work. In the opinion of The New York Times and several presidential historians, "Mrs. Ford's impact on American culture may be far wider and more lasting than that of her husband, who served a mere 896 days, much of it spent trying to restore the dignity of the office of the president. [19] Ford said, during her husband's failed 1976 presidential campaign, "I would give my life to have Jerry have my poll numbers. She served as the honorary president of the National Lupus Foundation, regarding lupus as a disease which impacted women, yet received minimal public attention. Throughout her post-Washington life, she established herself as one of the nation's first public advocates for women's self-examination, a prodigious fund-raiser for arthritis research, and, most important, a tireless campaigner for the rights and dignity of those afflicted with the disease of substance abuse. "[19], Ford avidly supported the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. [19] The use of Ford in such a manner to promote her husband's candidacy was not the work of the campaign itself, but rather, produced by supporters outside of the campaign organization. Gerald R. Ford, the nation's 38th president, died on this day in 2006. In 1964, a pinched nerve on the left side of Ford's neck sent her to the hospital for two weeks. The campaigns of the previous three presidents that sought election to an additional term (Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon) had needed to manufacture campaign publicity involving their first ladies (Mamie Eisenhower, Lady Bird Johnson, and Pat Nixon). This response proved effective in killing the speculation that she was covering-up her past, and earned her some admiration in the media. [42][43][44] Gerald Ford did not know about or see the photo until 1994. Jacqueline Kennedy, Pat Nixon and Betty Ford all smoked cigarettes but were never photographed doing so. During and after her years in the White House, 1974 to 1977, Mrs.. [3], After her husband's narrow defeat, there was some anecdotal speculation that Ford may have both have helped to alienate conservative Republicans from voting for her husband and at the same time helped attract him support from liberal and moderate Republicans, Democrats, and independents. [89] Ford continued to be an outspoken supporter of equal pay for women, breast cancer awareness, and the ERA throughout her life. [53], In Good Housekeeping's annual readers' poll of most admired women, Ford placed second in 1974[60] and first in 1975. [5] Warren was an alcoholic and diabetic, and was in poor health. In 1965, Ford suffered a significant nervous breakdown, erupting in severe crying that had appeared inexplicable to others. [91], In 1978, the deadline for ratification of the ERA was extended from 1979 to 1982, resulting largely from a march of a hundred thousand people on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. Live 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 died. 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 likely died by suicide. [8][70] 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. Betty Ford began taking prescription pain killers in the 1960s for a pinched nerve. She died Friday at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif. and her cause of death was not immediately clear. [76] In her remarks, Mrs. Cheney noted that July 14 would have been Gerald Ford's 98th birthday. She paused her divorce, and supported him, living at Warren's family's home for the next two years as his health recovered. "Did they dislike her? [3][5][6] While she was still in high school, she started her own dance school, instructing both youth and adults. [21] Ford would, ultimately, for most of the nine months she was second lady, be a high-profile public figure. July 8, 2011 Mrs. Betty Ford passes away at 93 years of age. [110], Ford's life is the focus of the 1987 ABC biographical television film The Betty Ford Story, which has a story adapted from her memoir The Times of My Life. [40] In 1977, the World Almanac included Ford in its ranking of the 25 most-influential American women. Watch the video to find out if Betty White died in her sleep.#BettyWhite #RIP #CelebNewsRead Full Article: https://www.nickiswift.com/722297/did-betty-white-. [40], In 1985, Ford received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an annual award given by the Jefferson Awards. And I loved pills. Murray Close/SHOWTIME. ", Hummer, Jill Abraham. Stay tuned to our website for additional information. [41], The Fords were among the more openly affectionate first couples in United States history. When did Betty Ford die? Elizabeth Bloomer, who was known from childhood as Betty, was born in 1918 in Chicago and grew up in Michigan. This experience has been credited with further cementing Ford's understanding of gender-based income inequalities between individuals doing the same work. If she could help women win full equal rights with men under the U.S. Constitution, Betty Ford wanted to give it her all. After leaving the White House, Mrs. Ford helped reduce the social stigma surrounding addiction and inspired thousands to seek much-needed treatment. Ford also enjoyed the traditional role as hostess of the White House and on a daily basis spent most of her energy on the family, health, and filling in for her husband on the hustings. In a tribute, Mark Updegrove, Director of the LBJ Library, who wrote much about the Ford family, said: Betty Ford was a thoroughly modern first ladyand among the most progressive we've ever had in the White House. [24] The Carters would, ultimately be the Fords successors as president and first lady after Carter defeated Ford in the 1976 United States presidential election. We were proud to call her a friend.". She knew the name from his . She was never more blunt and open than in 1978 when she revealed to the world her struggle to recover from her addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. I think its time to bring abortion out of the backwoods and put it in the hospitals, where it belongs. Disregarding criticism to her stance, Ford would remark, Maybe I shouldnt have said it, but I couldnt lie. All the way there I was telling myself how it would not change anything. "And if they'd asked me that I would have told them," she said, adding that her response would be, "As often as possible. [19][61] In a 1975 interview with the news program 60 Minutes, Ford called Roe v. Wade a "great, great decision". [3] As a mother, Ford never spanked or hit her children, believing that there were better, more constructive ways to deal with discipline and punishment. In the 1950s Bette Ford turned heads and raised eyebrows when she became a model-actress-bullfighter. She desired to have a family with children and was unhappy with the frequent moves between cities she had experienced in her marriage. [114], In 1975, when Time named "American women" as its "Time Person of the Year",[39] the magazine profiled Ford as one of eleven women selected to represent "American women". [19] Ford had, particularly, become addicted to prescription medication (opioid analgesics) that she had been originally prescribed in the early 1960s to treat a pinched nerve. [3], Ford filmed an interview with the television news program 60 Minutes which was broadcast on August 10, 1975. She was married to Gerald Ford for 58 years. [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. Ford has consistently ranked among the top-nine most highly assessed first ladies in these surveys. Bloomer disliked the surname. 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