Betty Ford, an outspoken and immensely popular former first lady who overcame alcohol and prescription-drug addictions and helped found the now-world-famous rehab clinic that bears her name, died yesterday. She was 93.
A spokeswoman said Ford died at Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Springs, Calif. Details were not immediately released.
Once nicknamed the “fighting first lady” by Time magazine because of her uncomfortably candid views, Ford held firm to opinions that were vastly different than those of her husband’s Republican Party.
She strongly supported women’s rights while husband Gerald Ford was president from 1974 to 1977, and was part of the doomed effort to get states to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.
She also took a tolerant stance on abortion, admitted without shame that some of her kids had tried marijuana — and wasn’t alarmed by the prospect of her daughter having premarital sex.
And after her 1974 mastectomy — less than two months after her husband succeeded the disgraced Richard Nixon — Ford became an early campaigner against breast cancer.
“She was a wonderful wife and mother; a great friend; and a courageous first lady,” former President George H.W. Bush said. “No one confronted life’s struggles with more fortitude or honesty, and as a result, we all learned from the challenges she faced.”
President Obama also praised Ford for her “courage and compassion.”
“As our nation’s first lady, she was a powerful advocate for women’s health and women’s rights,” he said. “While her death is a cause for sadness, we know that organizations such as the Betty Ford Center will honor her legacy by giving countless Americans a new lease on life.”
Services are expected to be held in Palm Springs.