Betty Ford Biography
H0015-4 - Betty Bloomer, ca. 1938. (Full size image is 61K) |
Elizabeth Anne (Betty) Bloomer was born
in Chicago on April 8, 1918 and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She
is the third child and only daughter of Hortense Neahr and William Stephenson
Bloomer. Mr. Bloomer, a factory parts salesman, passed away in
1934, when Betty was sixteen years old. Mrs. Bloomer, remembered
by her daughter as “strong and kind and principled,” survived
him until 1948.
At an early age, Betty Bloomer developed a passion for
dance. Upon
graduation from Central High School in 1936, she attended the Bennington
School of Dance, in Vermont, for two summers. While studying there she
met and began her long association with choreographer Martha Graham.
She continued her studies with Ms. Graham in New York City, becoming
a member of her Auxiliary Performance Troupe and performing at Carnegie
Hall.
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Close family ties took Betty Bloomer back to Grand Rapids In 1941. She
became fashion coordinator for Herpolsheimer’s, a locally prominent department
store, and continued her interest in dance, forming her own performance group.
She also worked with handicapped children, helping them experience the joy
of rhythm and movement in dance. In 1942 she married salesman William
Warren. The union did not last, and they divorced amicably several years
later.
In 1947, a friend introduced her to
Gerald R. Ford, Jr., a young lawyer who had served as Navy lieutenant
during World War II. By February 1948 the couple was engaged to be married.
Their wedding took place on October 15, 1948, two weeks before Mr. Ford
was elected to his first term in Congress. They moved to Washington D.C.
where he served as member of the House of Representatives for 25 years.
Mrs. Ford quickly assumed the tasks of a congressional spouse of the
era, spending much of her time in volunteer work with the Congressional
Wives Club, the 81st Congress Club, and the National Federation of Republican
Women. She also provided tours of the Capitol to visiting constituents
from Michigan. |
H0013-1 - Gerald and Betty Ford on their wedding day, October 15, 1948.
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The Fords became the parents of four children: Michael Gerald, born March
14, 1950; John Gardner, born March 16, 1952; Steven Meigs, born May 19, 1956;
and Susan Elizabeth, born July 6, 1957. Clara Powell, hired in 1949
to assist in housekeeping, became an extended family member over the next twenty
years.
While in Congress, the Fords lived in Alexandria, Virginia. There,
in addition to her congressional spouse activities, Mrs. Ford supervised the
home, did the cooking, undertook volunteer work, and taught Sunday school at
Emmanual-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church. She was active in PTA and devoted much
time to supporting her children’s pursuits in Scouting, baseball, and football
and the many other activities of a young growing family.
A0013-11 - The Ford Family in the Oval Office prior to the swearing-in of Gerald R. Ford as President, August 9, 1974. (Full size image is 75K)
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By 1973, the Fords were planning retirement
from Congress when a turn of political events shook the nation and reshaped
their own future. After the 1972 break-in of Democratic Headquarters
in the Watergate Hotel, the Nixon administration gradually became mired
in an unfolding scandal and consumed by legal investigations. Then,
when Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned amidst a scandal of his own,
President Nixon nominated Congressman Ford to replace Agnew. After
President Nixon himself resigned on August 9, 1974, Gerald Ford took
the oath of office as 38th President of the United States. Instead
of retiring, the Fords moved to the White House. |
As the new First Lady, Betty Ford immediately revealed the openness and good-natured
candor that became her trademark. She held her first press conference
on September 4, 1974. Expressing herself with humor and forthrightness
on controversial issues of the day, she answered questions about women in politics,
abortion rights, and a proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
When she was diagnosed with breast cancer later that month, she broke with social
conventions by fostering public discussion of her diagnosis and treatment.
In doing this, she purposefully raised public awareness of screening and treatment
options and reassured the many women already suffering from similar ordeals.
As soon as possible, she resumed her public duties at the Executive Mansion.
During her tenure as First Lady, Betty Ford addressed public issues that
were important to her. She was an outspoken advocate of women’s
rights and aspirations in an era when there was much debate on the matter,
encouraged the appointment of more women to senior government posts, supported
the U.N. International Women’s Year in 1975, and supported passage
of the Equal Rights Amendment. On the CBS show 60 Minutes,
Mrs. Ford candidly shared her opinions on such provocative issues as abortion
rights, pre-marital sex, and marijuana use. Her statements drew the
ire of many conservatives at a time when former California governor Ronald
Reagan was already challenging her husband for the Republican Party’s
presidential nomination in 1976. At the White House, public opinion
initially ran two to one in criticism of her remarks, but within months
her public approval rating had climbed to 75%.
She continued to promote programs for handicapped children and brought public
attention to the importance of the performing arts. While in the White
House, Mrs. Ford encouraged her husband’s decision to present the Presidential
Medal of Freedom to her mentor Martha Graham, the first dancer so honored.
Mrs. Ford did not shirk the extensive social duties of a First Lady, as
she and her husband hosted numerous State dinners and other events, bringing
an informality and warmth that guests and the nation welcomed. In
1975, she accompanied the President in journeys to fourteen countries, from
China to the Vatican.
Betty Ford was an enthusiastic supporter of her husband during the 1976
Presidential election campaign. She made several speaking tours throughout
the east and mid-west. Her popularity was reflected on lapel buttons
that proclaimed “Betty’s Husband For President!” When
Gerald Ford was defeated by former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter, the
couple left Washington and moved to Rancho Mirage, California.
In 1978, her prescription drug and alcohol use led to a family intervention
and her self-admittance to Long Beach Naval Hospital for treatment.
In facing
her personal problems, Betty Ford again dealt openly and honestly with the
public. Her 1978 autobiography, THE TIMES OF MY LIFE, chronicled her life
through the White House years and concluded with a candid, unplanned chapter
on her admittance to Long Beach. Her second book, BETTY: A GLAD AWAKENING,
published in 1987, recounted her experience of recovery from chemical dependency.
She became an active and outspoken champion of improved awareness, education,
and treatment for alcohol and other drug dependencies.
In 1982, her
good friend, Ambassador Leonard Firestone, joined Mrs. Ford in co-founding
the non-profit Betty Ford Center at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho
Mirage, California. Mrs. Ford worked tirelessly to raise funds and to help
research and design treatments to assist men, women and families in recovery
from alcoholism and other drug dependency. Today, The Betty Ford Center is
regarded as one of the most outstanding treatment facilities in the world.
Mrs. Ford has been the recipient of many honors and awards. In 1991
she was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George
H. W. Bush for providing “selfless, strong, and refreshing leadership
on a number of issues.” In 1999 President and Mrs. Ford
were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for "dedicated public service
and outstanding humanitarian contributions."
Mrs. Ford has passed the leadership of the Betty
Ford Center to her daughter, Susan Ford Bales, but she remains active and
interested in the work that is done there. She continues to reside in Rancho
Mirage, California.
After her husband's death on December 26, 2006, Mrs. Ford led her family
and the nation with grace and strength through several days of national memorial
observances. The world has come to expect such strength and guidance from the woman whose
Grand Rapids upbringing helped her become an outstanding and well loved First
Lady.
Betty Ford Timeline
Betty Ford Bibliography
Betty Ford Speeches
List of Awards and Honors Given to Betty Ford
Additional Photographs of Mrs. Ford
Last Updated: September 4, 2007
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