Memorial services held for Betty Ford
Source: Agencies |
July 14, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SHE was more than just a first lady, admirers said of Betty Ford. She was a role model for every presidential wife who followed her into the White House, not to mention a tireless advocate for women's rights and other causes that improved the lives of millions.
Ford, who died Friday at age 93, was memorialized on Tuesday by some 800 friends and family members, including no fewer than four current and former first ladies and one ex-president.
Yesterday she was to leave her adopted Southern California home for the last time and head to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where her husband, President Gerald R. Ford, who died in 2006, is buried.
"Or as she called him, my boyfriend of 58 years of marriage," said her son Michael Ford during a two-hour service at St Margaret's Episcopal Church in this desert resort town.
A second service was scheduled yesterday in Michigan at which Lynne Cheney, wife of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was to speak. Among those expected to attend was former first lady Barbara Bush.
Today, Ford is to be interred at her husband's presidential library on what would have been his 98th birthday.
Following Tuesday's California service, members of the public were invited into the church for a viewing that was scheduled to last until midnight.
During the service, former first lady Rosalynn Carter and journalist Cokie Roberts, among others, hailed Ford as a force of nature whose boundless energy and enthusiasm, coupled with a steadfast determination to do what was right, pushed the country toward a commitment to equal rights for women and other causes.
Ford, the accidental first lady, was thrust into the White House when Richard Nixon resigned as president on August 9, 1974, and her husband, then vice president, assumed the nation's highest office. Although she always said she never expected nor wanted to be first lady, she quickly embraced the role.
Her candidness, unheard of at the time, helped bring such previously taboo subjects as breast cancer into the public discussion as she openly discussed her own battle with the disease. She was equally outspoken about her struggles with drug and alcohol abuse, and her spearheading of the creation of the Betty Ford Center to treat those diseases has benefited thousands.
"Millions of women are in her debt today and she was never afraid to speak the truth even about the most sensitive subjects, including her own struggle with alcohol and pain killers," Carter said. "She got some criticism, but I thought she was wonderful and her honesty gave to others every single day."
The former first lady mapped out her funeral plans in advance, including who would deliver her eulogies.
Ford, who died Friday at age 93, was memorialized on Tuesday by some 800 friends and family members, including no fewer than four current and former first ladies and one ex-president.
Yesterday she was to leave her adopted Southern California home for the last time and head to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where her husband, President Gerald R. Ford, who died in 2006, is buried.
"Or as she called him, my boyfriend of 58 years of marriage," said her son Michael Ford during a two-hour service at St Margaret's Episcopal Church in this desert resort town.
A second service was scheduled yesterday in Michigan at which Lynne Cheney, wife of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was to speak. Among those expected to attend was former first lady Barbara Bush.
Today, Ford is to be interred at her husband's presidential library on what would have been his 98th birthday.
Following Tuesday's California service, members of the public were invited into the church for a viewing that was scheduled to last until midnight.
During the service, former first lady Rosalynn Carter and journalist Cokie Roberts, among others, hailed Ford as a force of nature whose boundless energy and enthusiasm, coupled with a steadfast determination to do what was right, pushed the country toward a commitment to equal rights for women and other causes.
Ford, the accidental first lady, was thrust into the White House when Richard Nixon resigned as president on August 9, 1974, and her husband, then vice president, assumed the nation's highest office. Although she always said she never expected nor wanted to be first lady, she quickly embraced the role.
Her candidness, unheard of at the time, helped bring such previously taboo subjects as breast cancer into the public discussion as she openly discussed her own battle with the disease. She was equally outspoken about her struggles with drug and alcohol abuse, and her spearheading of the creation of the Betty Ford Center to treat those diseases has benefited thousands.
"Millions of women are in her debt today and she was never afraid to speak the truth even about the most sensitive subjects, including her own struggle with alcohol and pain killers," Carter said. "She got some criticism, but I thought she was wonderful and her honesty gave to others every single day."
The former first lady mapped out her funeral plans in advance, including who would deliver her eulogies.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
