onedef92
07-11-2011, 9:02am
Betty Ford dies at age 93
Posted: Jul 08, 2011 9:13 PM EDT
Updated: Jul 08, 2011 9:39 PM EDT
(CNN) - Former First Lady betty Ford has died at the age of 93 and will be remembered not only for her years in the White House, but for her fight on behalf of millions who struggled with drug addiction.
Betty Ford's life in the political spotlight started quickly after her marriage to Gerald Ford, who was elected to congress two weeks after their wedding.
As first lady, she developed her own persona beyond the White House and was known for speaking out on abortion rights and women in the workplace.
Also the mother of four children, she was considered strong, active and most of all, candid.
"It has been the outgrowth of my own health that has made it possible for me to go ahead and in my way, share what I have learned with others," she said.
Before 1974, it was almost unheard of for a first lady to publicly mention personal problems.
In the first year of her husband's presidency, she announced she had breast cancer and would undergo a mastectomy.
But it is the Betty Ford Center for Substance Abuse that will be her greatest legacy.
"I think she educated a generation that needed education, that needed support on how to deal with these problems," political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jaffe said.
Ford disclosed publicly that she had for years abused alcohol and had become dependent on prescription drugs making her the first public figure to openly address a problem that plagued millions.
"It has been from the very first day, a place for any man or woman who wanted help," said John Schwarzlose, the original director of the Betty Ford Center.
"It made it unnecessary to hide the reality of substance abuse and I think that was a contribution that Betty Ford made," Jaffe said.
Mrs. Ford kept largely out of the public eye in her later years.
Most Americans saw her for the first time in more than a decade ate the funeral and burial of her husband.
It was a four-day period of national mourning and, although she looked fragile, she never wavered.
And the treatment center she helped create will be a memorial for generations to come.
Posted: Jul 08, 2011 9:13 PM EDT
Updated: Jul 08, 2011 9:39 PM EDT
(CNN) - Former First Lady betty Ford has died at the age of 93 and will be remembered not only for her years in the White House, but for her fight on behalf of millions who struggled with drug addiction.
Betty Ford's life in the political spotlight started quickly after her marriage to Gerald Ford, who was elected to congress two weeks after their wedding.
As first lady, she developed her own persona beyond the White House and was known for speaking out on abortion rights and women in the workplace.
Also the mother of four children, she was considered strong, active and most of all, candid.
"It has been the outgrowth of my own health that has made it possible for me to go ahead and in my way, share what I have learned with others," she said.
Before 1974, it was almost unheard of for a first lady to publicly mention personal problems.
In the first year of her husband's presidency, she announced she had breast cancer and would undergo a mastectomy.
But it is the Betty Ford Center for Substance Abuse that will be her greatest legacy.
"I think she educated a generation that needed education, that needed support on how to deal with these problems," political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jaffe said.
Ford disclosed publicly that she had for years abused alcohol and had become dependent on prescription drugs making her the first public figure to openly address a problem that plagued millions.
"It has been from the very first day, a place for any man or woman who wanted help," said John Schwarzlose, the original director of the Betty Ford Center.
"It made it unnecessary to hide the reality of substance abuse and I think that was a contribution that Betty Ford made," Jaffe said.
Mrs. Ford kept largely out of the public eye in her later years.
Most Americans saw her for the first time in more than a decade ate the funeral and burial of her husband.
It was a four-day period of national mourning and, although she looked fragile, she never wavered.
And the treatment center she helped create will be a memorial for generations to come.