Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren "Betty" Ford, 1918 - 2011
White House portrait (2 October 1974)
Born: 8 April 1918, Chicago, Illinois
Died: 8 July 2011, Rancho Mirage, California
Two years after her birth the family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. After high school she studied dance at Bennington College in Vermont, did some modeling at New York City, and studied and danced under Martha Graham before returning to Grand Rapids. After a short unhappy first marriage she married Gerald R. Ford during his first Congressional campaign, they spent their honeymoon at Republican Party rallies. After four children she was taking pain killers for a pinched nerve in her neck and started quietly drinking, suffering from a loss of self-esteem — feeling less important as Gerry became steadily more important. Two months after Ford became president following Nixon's resignation, Betty Ford had a mastectomy and was willing to talk about it, the outpouring of public support was dramatic. She continued to be outspoken as First Lady, supporting the Equal Rights Amendment and the right of women to seek safe abortions, making her popular with millions but not always with the Republican leadership. When Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in 1976 he completely lost his voice, Betty delivered the concession speech. Soon after that her family challenged her over her drug and alcohol dependencies. She resisted but then conquered the addictions, again willing to talk publicly and model a positive response to a sometimes-buried problem for millions. She went on to found the Betty Ford Center to treat drug addictions on the campus of the Eisenhower Medical Center near Palm Springs. She died yesterday at that hospital. She was 93.
Biography from Wikipedia and The New York Times obituary
Betty Ford quotes:
Quotes found : 24 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 2) 1 2 Next
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- A housewife deserves to be honored as much as a woman who earns her living in the marketplace. I consider bringing up children a responsible job. In fact, being a good housewife seems to me a much tougher job than going to the office and getting paid for it. permalink
Betty Ford - The Times of My Life (1978) - Any woman should have the right to a safe and legal abortion. permalink
Betty Ford - For 14 years, I'd been on medication for the pinched nerve, the arthritis, the muscle spasms in my neck, and I'd lost my tolerance for pills. If I had a single drink, the alcohol, on top of the pills, would make me groggy. permalink
Betty Ford - The Times of My Life (1978) - I entered Long Beach to rid myself of dependence on drugs. Even now, I think staying off medication will be harder for me than staying off liquor because I have pain which comes often. For the present, I seem to be dealing with it. It's mind over matter a lot. permalink
Betty Ford - The Times of My Life (1978) - I figured, okay, I'll move to the White House, do the best I can, and if they don't like it, they can kick me out. But they can't make me be somebody I'm not. permalink
Betty Ford - The Times of My Life (1978) - I hadn't wanted Jerry to be president, but I had long since accepted his decision to run. You plan your life one way, it goes another. When the time came, I felt he would be the best man for the job, and I was willing to take on four more years in the White House. permalink
Betty Ford - The Times of My Life (1978) - I never felt hopelessly mutilated. After all, Jerry and I had been married a good many years and our love had proved itself. I had no reason to doubt my husband. If he'd lost a leg, I wouldn't have deserted him, and I knew he wouldn't desert me because I was unfortunate enough to have had a mastectomy. Neither of us can walk away from the other. permalink
Betty Ford - The Times of My Life (1978) - I think a lot of women go through this. Their husbands have fascinating jobs, their children start to turn into independent people and the women begin to feel useless, empty. permalink
Betty Ford - I think I was born to be outspoken. Hopefully, it's been to the benefit of others. permalink
Betty Ford - I think it wasn't so much that the White House altered me in any essential way as that I found the resources with which to respond to a series of challenges. You never know what you can do until you have to do it. In the beginning, it was like going to a party you're terrified of, and finding out to your amazement that you're having a good time. permalink
Betty Ford - The Times of My Life (1978) - I was an ordinary woman who was called onstage at an extraordinary time. I was no different once I became first lady than I had been before. But, through an accident of history, I had become interesting to people. permalink
Betty Ford - I've learned a lot about myself. Most of it is all right. When I add up the pluses and subtract the minuses, I still come out pretty well. permalink
Betty Ford - It's always been my feeling that God lends you your children until they're about eighteen years old. If you haven't made your points with them by then, it's too late. permalink
Betty Ford - Lying in the hospital, thinking of all those women going for cancer checkups because of me, I'd come to recognize more clearly the power of the woman in the White House. Not my power, but the power of the position, a power which could be used to help. permalink
Betty Ford - The Times of My Life (1978) - My makeup wasn't smeared, I wasn't disheveled, I behaved politely, and I never finished off a bottle, so how could I be alcoholic? permalink
Betty Ford
Quotes found : 24 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 2) 1 2 Next
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