how did betty ford die

[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. [16], The Fords lived in Washington, D.C. after his election, until the spring of 1955, when the Fords moved into a house they constructed in the D.C. suburb of Alexandria, Virginia. [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. [65] Ford decided to be open about her illness because "There had been so much cover-up during Watergate that we wanted to be sure there would be no cover-up in the Ford administration. [84] When she attended the 1992 Republican National Convention, Ford wore an AIDS ribbon pin. Her taboo-busting honesty about abortion, sex, gay rights, marijuana and the Equal Rights . Betty Ford: Abortion is NOT a Partisan Issue - WCLA - Choice Matters Coming of age when Betty Ford and her husband found themselves accidental occupants of the White House, all I knew of Betty Ford was that she had big hair, and, subsequently, breast cancer and addiction issues. The cause of Betty Ford's death was never disclosed. As the First Lady . 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.". Despite her advanced age and own frail physical condition, Ford traveled across the country and took part in the funeral events in California, Washington, D.C., and Michigan. [54] She placed first in 1975. 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. Betty Ford, whose husband, Gerald, died in December 2006, had undergone surgery for an undisclosed ailment in April 2007. Warters, T. Alissa. The Fords' children often also attended the dinners they hosted. After leaving the White House, Betty Ford publicly acknowledged her addiction to alcohol and painkillers. Murray Close/SHOWTIME. It focuses on the middle school teacher Betty Ford's murder. Ford's recent predecessor Lady Bird Johnson was among other first ladies that did not conduct solo trips abroad. [3][5], In 1942, Elizabeth Bloomer married William G. Warren,[5][4] whom she had known since she was 12. "She has been an inspiration to so many through her efforts to educate women about breast cancer and her wonderful work at the Betty Ford Center," Reagan said. [117], Second Lady of the United States (19731974), First Lady of the United States (19741977), Ranking in Gallup's annual poll of "Most Admired Women", Recovery from alcoholism and prescription drug addiction, Steinhauer, Jennifer (December 31, 2006). Ford was born Elizabeth Anne Bloomer in 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, the third child and only daughter of Hortense (ne Neahr; 1884 - 1948) and William Stephenson Bloomer Sr. (1874 - 1934), who was a traveling salesman for Royal Rubber Co. She was called Betty as a child.. Hortense and William married on November 9, 1904, in Chicago. ", McClellan, Michelle L. "Fame through Shame: Women Alcoholics, Celebrity, and Disclosure. Kalb shares a few things you may not know about the 38th . Penn State World Campus (2013). [85], In 1982, after recovering from her own addictions, Ford established the Betty Ford Center (initially called the Betty Ford Clinic) in Rancho Mirage, California, for the treatment of chemical dependency,[86] including treating the children of alcoholics. The Fords' unlikely rise to first family started in 1973, just as they were planning on retiring from Congress. But the main point was, it was best for the country.". [3], On August 9, 1974, after the resignation of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford ascended to the position of president of the United States,[12] and Betty Ford became the first lady of the United States. 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. Stay tuned to our website for additional information. Betty Ford, the former first lady whose triumph over drug and alcohol addiction became a beacon of hope for addicts and the inspiration for her Betty Ford Center in California, died at age. Betty Ford. In December 1999, he told interviewer Larry King that he, too, was pro-abortion rights and had been criticized for that stance by conservative forces within the Republican Party. Everyone recognizes the namethanks in large part to the Betty Ford Clinic she co-founded in 1982 . Ford's failure to conduct a solo trip is not all that extraordinary, however. "We were honored to host President and Mrs. Ford at the White House in 1998 when they received the Congressional Gold Medal for their dedication and service to our nation," the Clintons wrote. She also fundraised for No Greater Love, in appreciation of its work benefiting Children of Vietnam War MIA and POWs. Magazines such as Vogue and Ladies Home Journal were planning to publish spreads on Ford in upcoming issues. President Obama noted how Betty Ford "distinguished herself through her courage and compassion. Ford, a Republican who served in the White House from 1974 to 1977, was 93 when he passed away at . This video contains excerpts from the second ha. Shortly after she decided to file for divorce, Warren fell into a coma. 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. [3], Spiro Agnew resigned as vice president on October 10, 1973. After leaving. [87] She served as chair of the board of directors. [41], The Fords were among the more openly affectionate first couples in United States history. "[66] Her openness about her cancer and treatment raised the visibility of a disease that Americans had previously been reluctant to talk about. She became an advocate for breast cancer research and early detection. Best known for her leadership in the founding of the Betty Ford Clinic in California to treat addiction. Betty Ford was at his side. [7] Early into her time in the White House, during a televised tour of the White House she once again noted that she and her husband shared the same bed. [3][19] Ford also posed for newspaper publicity photographs and was a clothing model for charity fashion shows, after a Republican had urged her to do so since they felt that Democratic Party spouses had far outnumbered Republican spouses in such publicity-generating activity. [5] Warren was an alcoholic and diabetic, and was in poor health. Betty and Gerald Ford embrace in the White House in 1974. A month after moving into the White House, Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. In 1982, she co-founded the Betty Ford Center in California. Because she suffered, there will be more healing. 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. The Nixons had previously removed dancing from the state dinners during Nixon's presidency. 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-known rehabilitation centers in. [61][33] Ford utilized phone calls, letter-writing, and telegrams as means of lobbying in support of the ERA. In her September 4, 1974 press conference, Ford declared her support for it. She was also outspoken on women's rights issues. . [3][97] In 1999, she and President Ford were jointly awarded Congressional Gold Medals. She decided to establish the Betty Ford Center with gender specific treatment for men and women (Northouse, 2013) Northouse, P. G. (2013). [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. [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. She died peacefully, surrounded by her family, at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. 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. Fellow first lady Nancy Reagan also was "deeply saddened" by the news. Become a member and. On August 9, 1974, Betty Bloomer Ford was thrust onto the world stage when her . Ford was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush in 1991. [53] In 1977, the year her husband left office, she placed fourth. She would be given prescription medication, including Valium. 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. Betty White's cause of death has been revealed.. 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. A mutual friend, Peg Neuman, suggested to Gerald that he should ask her out, so he called her. Throughout her husband's term in office, she maintained high approval ratings and was considered to be an influential first lady. [24] However, by the spring of 1974, Ford was seen as embracing her position as second lady, becoming less reclusive and more active. Ford would ultimately develop an addiction to prescription medication (and would ultimately confront and recover from this addiction in 1978). As we told you back in 2020, Betty rarely left her home once the COVID-19 pandemic began.. They married in 1948, two weeks before he was elected to his first term in Congress. "[67], Adding to heightened public awareness of breast cancer were reports that several weeks after Ford's cancer surgery, Happy Rockefeller, the wife of Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, also had a mastectomy. Tennessee Ernie Ford, as he came to be known, was an ordinary man but his overwhelming success later led to his downfall. [3], As she had previously been with her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, Ford was transparent with the public about her addictions and admittance to rehab. This prospect elated Ford. [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. [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". [98] That same year, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her and her husband. [93] 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. She was the wife of President Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States. Through the work she did at the Betty Ford Center, Ford recognized the link between drug abuse and AIDS. She got a job as assistant to the fashion coordinator for Herpolsheimer's, a local department store. She explained that, while her husband had attended two sessions with a psychiatric doctor, those sessions were for her care, and not care of his own. 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). Ford succeeded in getting sober. Elizabeth Bloomer, who was known from childhood as Betty, was born in 1918 in Chicago and grew up in Michigan. She became well known for her openness. White House photographer David Hume Kennerly took a photo of her on the table. One of the major strengths of authentic leadership is that it fulfills and expressed need for trustworthy leadership in society. 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. "I'm not out to rescue anybody who doesn't want to be rescued," she once said. Ford was noted for raising breast cancer awareness following her 1974 mastectomy. The Golden Girls star, who passed away on Dec. 31 at age 99, died due to a cerebrovascular accident, according to her death certificate obtained by PEOPLE on Monday. ABC News' David Reiter and Michael S. James contributed to this report. Betty" (2013). For state dinners held using this tent, the receptions, entertainment, and dancing portions of the evenings were still held inside of the White House. Her cause of death was not immediately clear. However, not everything Ford did as first lady broke tradition. 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. 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. [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". 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]. Shortly after leaving the White House in 1977, at a time when alcoholism was considered a shameful topic which should never be discussed or even mentioned, the Ford family held . We were proud to call her a friend.". Her overall approval rating was, at times, as high as 75%. [3], Ford campaigned actively both during primary elections and the general election. Ford also publicly expressed admiration and friendship toward First Lady Pat Nixon. This meant that Gerald Ford was away from home for roughly half the year, placing a great burden on Ford to raise their children. Betty Ford saw her role in the White House as official hostess and a goodwill ambassador. Photos of this moment were published widely in the American press, resulting in Betty Ford somewhat upstaging President Ford in the press. "I just think it's important to say how easy it is to slip into a dependency on pills or alcohol, and how hard it is to admit that dependency.". ", Hummer, Jill Abraham. [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. "[7], Betty and Gerald Ford had four children together: Michael Gerald Ford (born 1950), John Gardner Ford (nicknamed Jack; born 1952), Steven Meigs Ford (born 1956), and Susan Elizabeth Ford (born 1957). Her coverage minimized the complexity of breast cancer as a disease and ignored the debates surrounding best treatment practices. She was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal as a co-recipient with President Ford in 1998. For years after leaving the White House, Ford continued to enjoy great influence and popularity, continuing to rank in the top-ten of Gallup's annual most admired woman poll every year through 1991. Gerald Ford: Gerald Ford was president of the United States between 1974 and 1977. [68], As First Lady, Ford was an advocate of the arts. I did not know at the time what was going on. 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. Most of all we wanted the state dinners to express the very best about America, particularly during the bicentennial year. After leaving the White House in 1977, Ford continued to lead an active public life. Gerald R. Ford, the nation's 38th president, died on this day in 2006. On April 1, 1978, her family staged an intervention which forced her to acknowledge the negative impact that her addiction was having on her health and family relationships. Among the nations that Ford accompanied her husband to were China, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. She joined Graham's auxiliary troupe and eventually performed with the company at Carnegie Hall. The President outlined his criteria for the post: quality, confirmability, ageso that the nominee could be there for a whilebreadth on the Court so the Court did not have eight people of any. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? "When other women have this same operation, it doesn't make any headlines," she told Time. [7][30] Ford regarded Roosevelt a role model. She died Friday at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif. and her cause of death was not immediately clear. She further taught ballroom dancing lessons for children with visual impairment and hearing loss and gave weekly dance lessons to African American children. Thereafter, Mrs. Ford's daily greetings were verbally reciprocated.". John Robert Greene. She disclosed her alcoholism through a statement that a family spokesman read on her behalf at a press conference (at which Ford was not herself present) held outside of the hospital. [5] After he recovered, they were divorced on September 22, 1947. As it turns out, Betty Ford did send a letter to Michelle Obama. Much of this progress began in the 1970s through the voice and advocacy of Betty Ford. Leadership: Theory and Practice. "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. She briefly continued her studies with Graham in New York City until close family ties took her back to Grand Rapids in 1941. Betty Ford was born on April 8, 1918 and died on July 8, 2011. She was 99. If she could help women win full equal rights with men under the U.S. Constitution, Betty Ford wanted to give it her all. Ford made the decision that year to erect a tent in the White House Rose Garden to host dinners outside. She successfully lobbied her husband to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to choreographer and dancer Martha Graham in 1976. "But the fact that I was the wife of the President put it in headlines and brought before the public this particular experience I was going through. The organization sought to bring together political spouses and female government federal employees to discuss current party activates and ideas about legislation. [53][51] Contrarily to her, while President Ford ranked in the top-10 positions of most admired men in multiple years,[56][57][58][59] he never managed to top it. [3][16] The speech was delivered on the day after the election. [3][21] Her candor on this trip received a positive reception by the news media..[21] Among those she met on the two-day trip was Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. [78] In June 1977, Ford was a speaker at the Arthritis Association Convention. 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. 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After moving into the White House as official hostess and a goodwill ambassador ultimately develop an addiction to prescription,! Of Freedom by George H. W. Bush in 1991 fellow first Lady, Ford remark. Courage and compassion two weeks before he was elected to his first term Congress. '' she once said official hostess and a goodwill ambassador 's auxiliary troupe and eventually performed with the how did betty ford die!