Betty Ford, activist first lady and wife of Gerald R. Ford, dies at 93
Betty Ford, 93, a self-proclaimed “ordinary” woman who never cared for political life but made a liberating adventure out of her 30 months as first lady, died Friday, The Washington Post has confirmed.
“I decided that if the White House was our fate,” she once said of Gerald R. Ford’s brief presidency, “I might as well have a good time doing it.”
Her death was confirmed by Elaine Didier, the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum in Ann Arbor, Mich.
To the surprise of some and the consternation of others, Mrs. Ford evolved as an activist first lady whose non-threatening manner coupled with her newfound celebrity provided the women’s movement an impressive ally. Undaunted by critics, she campaigned for ratification of the ill-starred Equal Rights Amendment, championed liberalized abortion laws and lobbied her husband to name more women to policymaking government jobs.