[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. [32] On September 4, 1974, weeks after becoming first lady, Ford conducted 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. For more, click here: http://abcn.ws/BettyFordRIP During and after her years in the White House, 1974 to 1977, Mrs.. Established in 1949 on lakeside acreage in Center City, Minnesota, the Hazelden Betty Ford . Betty" (2013). Betty Ford, the first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, died at the age of 93. During and after her years in the White House, 1974 to 1977, Mrs. Ford won . The Betty Ford Center board endorsed the merger Tuesday. [3], Spiro Agnew resigned as vice president on October 10, 1973. In private, she triumphed over serious personal adversity. CNN . Ford made the decision that year to erect a tent in the White House Rose Garden to host dinners outside. Elizabeth Anne "Betty" Bloomer Ford was the widow of former United States President Gerald R. Ford and served as the First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977. 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 . [84] When she attended the 1992 Republican National Convention, Ford wore an AIDS ribbon pin. As we told you back in 2020, Betty rarely left her home once the COVID-19 pandemic began.. In 1982, she co-founded the Betty Ford Center in California. She accompanied her husband to congressional and White House events, as well as on some trips abroad, and made herself available to newspaper and magazine articles. [80] In November 1977, Ford appeared at the opening session of the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas. They married in 1948, two weeks before he was elected to his first term in Congress. "I certainly did not want it, and neither did our children. All the way there I was telling myself how it would not change anything. Betty had a history of taking opioid painkillers for a pinched nerve since the 1960s (which is also alluded to in episode 1 of 'The First Lady'). Ford succeeded in getting sober. [81][82], Ford had suffered from a dependency on prescription medication and from alcoholism prior even to her husband's presidency. [3], Ford did not take any solo trips aboad as first lady. She was 93 years old when she died. She worked a production line for a frozen food company in Fulton, New York. 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. She further taught ballroom dancing lessons for children with visual impairment and hearing loss and gave weekly dance lessons to African American children. Leadership: Theory and Practice. Betty Ford "became known for her openness and candor" (Northouse, 2013) and remained true to herself, she did not change who she was, or her core values because of her new position as First Lady. Stay tuned to our website for additional information. [7] Weeks later, when the Fords moved from their Virginia residence into the White House[3] their king size bed was photographed being moved into the White House, which prompted Betty to quip that they had been outed for breaking the tradition of first couples keeping separate bedrooms in the White House. In 2003, Ford produced another book, Healing and Hope: Six Women from the Betty Ford Center Share Their Powerful Journeys of Addiction and Recovery. She was married to Gerald Ford for 58 years. [3], After Gerald Ford's defeat by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election she delivered her husband's concession speech because he had lost his voice while campaigning. "[19], Ford avidly supported the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. The 10-episode biographical drama, which . Betty Ford. She also co-authored with Chris Chase a book about her treatment, Betty: A Glad Awakening (1987). "[10], On January 19, 1977, her last full day as first lady, Betty Ford used her training as a Martha Graham dancer to jump up on the Cabinet Room table. [15] An anecdote that was later reported was that, when Gerald Ford left Grand Rapids for Washington, D.C., Betty Ford's new sister-in-law Janet Ford remarked to her, "with Jerry, you'll never have to worry about other women. Since 1982 Siena College Research Institute has conducted occasional surveys asking historians to assess American first ladies according to a cumulative score on the independent criteria of their background, value to the country, intelligence, courage, accomplishments, integrity, leadership, being their own women, public image, and value to the president. [99] In 2003, Ford was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award by the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution. In 2004, Ford reaffirmed her pro-abortion rights stance and her support for the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, as well as her belief in and support for the ratification of the ERA. Most of all we wanted the state dinners to express the very best about America, particularly during the bicentennial year. After her pinched nerve, she began suffering several effects, including muscle spasms, periphrasic neuropathy, numbing the left side of her neck, and arthritis on her shoulder and arm. Former first lady Betty Ford has died at the age of 93. "[3], At the time her husband assumed the presidency, reporters speculated on what kind of first lady Ford would be, as they thought her predecessor, Pat Nixon, as noted by one reporter, to be the "most disciplined, composed first lady in history. Ford was noted for raising breast cancer awareness following her 1974 mastectomy. This meant that Gerald Ford was away from home for roughly half the year, placing a great burden on Ford to raise their children. Because of her leadership, many lives were saved.". [3][97] In 1999, she and President Ford were jointly awarded Congressional Gold Medals. Rancho Mirage, California, USA; Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. That is why I loved this stuff so much. After being accepted by Graham as a student in 1940, Bloomer moved to New York to live in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood; she worked as a fashion model for the John Robert Powers firm in order to finance her dance studies. Though I told myself I would just use once. This is the only time that a major United States presidential candidate's spouse has delivered their concession on their behalf. [53] In 1977, the year her husband left office, she placed fourth. On December 26, 2006, Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States, died at home in Rancho Mirage, California at 6:45 p.m. local time (02:45, December 27, UTC). White House photographer David Hume Kennerly took a photo of her on the table. AP. Thereafter, Mrs. Ford's daily greetings were verbally reciprocated.". [3][75] She is the most recent first lady not to have done so. [3][5][12] They married on October 15, 1948, at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids. [3] After the interview aired, a number of Ford's remarks in this interview on hot-button issues generated particularly immense media attention. [37] Ford ultimately played an important role in the 1976 election campaign. Her mother's actions in the wake of her father's passing are said to have been formative for her views in support of equal pay and gender equality. . The must-watch series is accompanied by the likes of Jessica Biel and Melanie Lynskey. After leaving. She suffered from severe arthritic pain in her neck and muscle spasms. [84], In 1987, Ford underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery and recovered without complications. Ford was observed audibly telling her husband "I love you" following a kiss they shared right after he was sworn in as president. ", President George W. Bush said he and his wife Laura "admired her as a first lady and valued her as a friend. In fact, when Mrs . [19], During a January 1984 address in Michigan to a crowd of individuals who were in the early stages of alcohol and drug dependency treatment, Ford declared that the six years since she began her treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, "have been the best years in my life from the standpoint of feeling healthier and feeling more comfortable with myself". [36] As first lady, remarking on her honest candor and the sometimes-controversial remarks it resulted in, Ford declared, "I am not very good at making up stories." She was married to Gerald Ford for 58 years. She joined Graham's auxiliary troupe and eventually performed with the company at Carnegie Hall. The organization sought to bring together political spouses and female government federal employees to discuss current party activates and ideas about legislation. [8], When Bloomer was 16, her father died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the family's garage while working under their car, despite the garage doors being open. [3], On March 12, 1974, the Fords hosted a state dinner for King Hussein of Jordan after president Nixon, with a week's notice, asked Vice President Ford to take over for him in hosting the already-scheduled state dinner. 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.". [45][48], Ford was popular with the American public. ", Gould, Lewis L. "Modern first ladies in historical perspective. "Ford and Ford" in Scott Kaufman, ed. In 2005, Ford relinquished her chair of the center's board of directors to her daughter Susan. [7][36] While President Ford never attempted to silence his wife, some of his senior staff resented her independent candor. She instead attended the Bennington School of Dance in Bennington, Vermont, for two summers, where she studied under director Martha Hill with choreographers Martha Graham and Hanya Holm. Ford was the most prominent national supporter of the project. "In terms of the White House atmosphere, there's no doubt that Mrs. Ford wanted to, in her own words, let open the windows," said Richard Norton Smith, a presidential historian and one of the eulogists at the funeral for President Ford. [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". ", Gregory Knight, Myra. [34] Ford's popularity often was higher than her husband's. [42][43][44] Gerald Ford did not know about or see the photo until 1994. 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. She studied dance at the Calla Travis Dance Studio, graduating in 1935. [41], The Fords were among the more openly affectionate first couples in United States history. [109], In 2021, Zogby Analytics conducted a poll in which a sample of the American public was asked to assess the greatness of twelve First Ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy onwards. During the general election, her busy campaign activity saw the reigniting of her pinched nerve. [89] Ford continued to be an outspoken supporter of equal pay for women, breast cancer awareness, and the ERA throughout her life. [94] The amendment did not receive enough states' ratification. Thus, Michelle Obama did, in fact, receive a letter from Betty Ford soon after she moved into the White House. [76] In her remarks, Mrs. Cheney noted that July 14 would have been Gerald Ford's 98th birthday. Later that day, President Ford was caught momentarily patting Betty's buttocks before the press gathered outside of their Virginia residence. 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. Some women protested Ford's lobbying for the ERA by carrying placards outside of the White House reading "Betty Ford, Get Off the Phone". She died Friday at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif. and her cause of death was not immediately clear. Gerald Ford: Gerald Ford was president of the United States between 1974 and 1977. This is the autobiographical story of the addiction and recovery of former First Lady Betty Bloomer Ford, wife of US President Gerald R. Ford. I took that first hit and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced. At this point in her life, she was married to her first husband, businessman William Warren. Because the pills were prescribed by a physician, she did not believe that she had a . In her September 4, 1974 press conference, Ford declared her support for it. The state dinners that Ford planned as first lady made a deliberate effort to showcase American ingredients. [61] Her active political role prompted Time to call her the country's "Fighting First Lady" and was the reason they profiled her, among several others, to represent the "American Women" as the magazine's 1975 Person of the Year. [69], During their final year in the White House, the Fords hosted eleven state dinners. [66], According to Tasha N. Dubriwny, the massive media coverage of Ford's mastectomy was constrained by stereotypical gender roles, particularly the need for breast cancer patients to maintain their femininity. [5] At the time they married, Warren worked for his own father in insurance sales. [3], Ford campaigned actively both during primary elections and the general election. Betty White died from a stroke suffered on Dec. 25, 2021, six days before her Dec. 31 death at age 99, according to her death certificate, the Associated Press reports. [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. "And if they'd asked me that I would have told them," she said, adding that her response would be, "As often as possible. Her acceptance speech spoke hopefully of the prospect that attitudes towards HIV/AIDS would shift, being de-stigmatized as cancer and alcoholism had (in part due to her contribution). She briefly continued her studies with Graham in New York City until close family ties took her back to Grand Rapids in 1941. During his testimony, Gerald Ford was questioned about attending psychiatric care. [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. However, she abused these prescriptions, regularly taking many more pills than prescribed. Her mother remarried, to family friend and neighbor Arthur Meigs Godwin, and Bloomer lived with them. Betty Ford is awarded the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President George H. W. Bush, 1991. [3] Gerald Ford was confirmed as vice president by the United States Congress on December 6, 1973, and Gerald Ford took the oath of office before a joint session of the United States Congress, placing his hand upon a bible which Betty Ford held. Betty Ford wanted to be a professional dancer 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. He later worked for the Continental Can Company, and after that for the Widdicomb Furniture Company. John Robert Greene. Betty Ford became the first lady of the United States when her husband, Gerald Ford, assumed the office following President Richard Nixon's resignation. She got a job as assistant to the fashion coordinator for Herpolsheimer's, a local department store. She also organized her own dance group and taught dance at various sites in Grand Rapids, including the Calla Travis Dance Studio. "Betty was a remarkable woman whose legacy will live on in people around the country whose lives are longer and better because of her work. 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. She became famous for her candor. "In the end, simply by being herself, she made it easier for millions of American women to be themselves," Smith told ABC News. [3][19] Ford's health problems and the stress of her husband's career (which saw him frequently away from their household) compounded, particularly after her husband's career became even more demanding after he became House minority leader in January 1965. After graduating from high school in 1936 she attended the Bennington School of Dance in Vermont for two summers, where she met choreographer Martha Graham. [105] In terms of cumulative assessment, Ford has been ranked: The 2008 Siena Research Institute survey ranked Ford the 5th-highest of the twenty 20th and 21st century First Ladies. Dance developed into a passion for her, and she decided she wanted to seek a career in it. Ford did indirectly indicate her willingness to step into the role of first lady by affirming that she would make any sacrifices required for her husband to carry out his constitutional obligations, but also opined that it would be traumatic if the nation had to endure a president being forced from office. Among the revelations in the biography: 1. In addition, she was a passionate supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). [3] At one point, Ford disclosed to the public that her husband had previously promised her that he would retire from the House of Representatives in 1976 in order to return to private legal practice and dedicate more time to his family. [5], In 1936, after graduating from high school, Bloomer proposed continuing her study of dance in New York City, but her mother refused on account of the relatively recent loss of her husband. Betty Bloomer Warren dances in "Fantasy," 1945. Because of her grief, there will be more joy. [55] After her tenure as first lady ended, she would top the poll for a second time in 1978, the year she had established herself as an advocate for people with drug and alcohol dependence. She became an advocate for breast cancer research and early detection. In public, she was one of the most visible and outspoken first ladies in history. [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. Neither was shy about their mutual love and equal respect, and they were known to have a strong personal and political partnership. That same year, People named Ford one of the three most intriguing people in America. She knew the name from his . In this statement, she also praised the reputation of the hospital's addiction treatment program, and declared her pleasure to have the opportunity to attend the treatment. She also was completely unpretentious. [53] The poll gauges Americans' most admired men and women without providing respondents any pre-arranged list of names. "This is not a lack of willpower, this is a disease," she said at the time. She recalled that the first time she heard someone call her father an alcoholic was at his funeral. Where did Betty Ford die? YouTube. She regularly drove her children around to their activities, such as her sons' Little League Baseball games and her daughter's dance classes. [37][33] In January 1976, the editors of the New York News Service wrote that Ford was, "one of the most charming and popular First Ladies ever to occupy the White House". Betty underwent a radical mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Hospital and inadvertently destigmatized breast cancer by addressing her illness publicly during a White House press conference. "Issues of Openness and Privacy: Press and Public Response to Betty Ford's Breast Cancer. "She was Jerry Ford's strength through some very difficult days in our country's history, and I admired her courage in facing and sharing her personal struggles with all of us. 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. Betty White in her kitchen in Carmel, California. The Los Angeles lair, as well as her home in Carmel, were known to have stuffed-animal rooms. Betty Ford died in 2011 at age 93, having overcome her addictions and founding the Betty Ford Center in 1982 to help other addicts recover. 'Not at all,' he replied. At 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 Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather . As a young girl, Betty took up dancing, which quickly became her passion. Betty Ford began taking prescription pain killers in the 1960s for a pinched nerve. [3], In 2013, Ford was posthumously inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. She joined Graham's auxiliary troupe and eventually performed with the company at Carnegie Hall in New York City. [46][47] The photo was subsequently published and is regarded as an "iconic" photograph of Ford's time as First Lady. She studied dance under Martha Graham in New York, working as a fashion model to finance her studies. The series lovers highly anticipate the show and are peculiar to know about Betty Ford's first husband. [103], Only a part of Betty Ford's legacy will be that of her role as first lady. [98] That same year, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her and her husband. [11] She had, three years into the marriage, concluded that their relationship was a failure. [71] As previously mentioned, the Fords had hosted a state dinner for King Hussein months earlier, during Gerald Ford's vice presidency, on March 12, 1974, after president Nixon asked then-Vice President Ford to take over for him in hosting a planned dinner for the King. Phyllis Schlafly accused Ford of acting improperly by intervening in state affairs. Also, as a tireless advocate for women's rights and social justice, she helped to improve the lives and opportunities of countless women and children.". [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. We were proud to know her. During her stay at the White House, her dependency on these drugs seemingly dissipated. Ford also became involved in causes related to HIV/AIDS. Ford died Friday at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., ABC News has learned. The march was led by prominent feminist leaders, including Ford, Bella Abzug, Elizabeth Chittick, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. Betty Ford (1918-2011) was the wife of Gerald Ford, who was the 38th president of the United States between 1974 and 1977. It amounted to as aestheticization of breast cancer and her coverage became the major discursive model for looking at all breast cancer survivors. But, before . Betty Ford was 93 years old when she died; therefore, she can be said to have died from old age. [25], Ford dancing with comedian Marty Allen in the Entrance Hall of the White House of the White House during a September 21, 1976 state dinner in honor Liberian President William Tolbert, Ford reviews the table settings while preparing for the September 21, 1976 state dinner in honor of Liberian President William Tolbert, Ford and Social Secretary Maria Downs give the media a tour of the tent errected in the South Lawn for the July 1976 state dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Great Britain, Ford and Social Secretary Maria Downs inspect centerpiece sculptures designed by Frederic Remington and Charles Russell ahead of an October 1975 state dinner honoring Anwar Sadat, the president of Egypt, The Fords escort Japanese Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kjun down the Cross Hall towards the East Room during an October 1975 state dinner honoring the Japanese royals, Ford accompanied her husband abroad on several diplomatic trips. [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. 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. 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. Because she suffered, there will be more healing. Gerald R. Ford, the nation's 38th president, died on this day in 2006. [35] The New York News Service wrote that Ford was, "constitutionally incapable of uttering 'no comment' or otherwise fudging an answer.". Ford also publicly expressed admiration and friendship toward First Lady Pat Nixon. The week she entered rehab, Ford disclosed her addiction to prescription medication. Betty Ford saw her role in the White House as official hostess and a goodwill ambassador. She also fundraised for No Greater Love, in appreciation of its work benefiting Children of Vietnam War MIA and POWs. [3][20] However, notably, Ford had not managed to address her increasing prescription pain medication dependency, which sometimes saw her taking as many as twenty pills in a single day. [21] In addition to the arts, Ford also gave focus to projects helping the disabled during her time as second lady. The reigniting of her leadership, many lives were saved. ``, this the! Was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award by the Woodrow Wilson Award by the of! In November 1977, died at the age of 93 Modern first ladies in.. Click here: http: //abcn.ws/BettyFordRIP during and after her years in the White House the... Three most intriguing People in America When she died ; therefore, she triumphed over serious personal adversity Ford died... 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