Politics & Government

Former First Lady Betty Ford, Longtime Northern VA Resident, Dies at 93

The Fords and their family of four kids called the area home for 20 years.

UPDATE: We've added a statement from the Fords' children, posted by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, at the bottom of the story.

Former first lady Betty Ford, a longtime Northern Virginia resident, died Friday night at the age of 93 in California, surrounded by her family, according to news reports.

Alexandria was home to the Ford family for more than 20 years. The family moved to a rental property in Parkfairfax in 1951, when Gerald Ford was in his second term in Congress (R-Michigan), according to the City of Alexandria Web site.

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The family moved to their home at 514 Crown View Drive, in Alexandria’s Clover neighborhood, in the spring of 1955, where they remained until a few days after Ford became president.

During Ford’s 12th term in Congress, President Nixon nominated him as vice president, after Spiro T. Agnew resigned. Ford became vice president on Dec. 6, 1973. President Nixon, embroiled in the Watergate scandal, resigned less than a year later, and Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States on August 9, 1974.

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President Ford and his family continued to live at Crown View Drive for 10 days before moving to the White House.

During the Fords’ years in Alexandria, they were active in community affairs and the children attended Alexandria City Public Schools. According to Mayor Euille, who attended T.C. Williams High School with the two oldest Ford sons, the president visited the schools “as a parent, a speaker to government classes, and an athletic booster for his sports-minded children,” he noted on the city's Web site.

According to the city Web site, the president commuted down I-395 from Alexandria to the White House during those first 10 days of his term. According to an August 24, 1975 issue of Time Magazine: “Preceded by a police car and trailed by four other vehicles, including a Secret Service station wagon and a press van, his limousine was hard to miss. Many motorists waved a cheerful if somewhat bemused good-morning as the Chief Executive, immersed in his morning newspapers, sailed past them in the lane reserved for buses and car pools.” 

Betty Ford later wrote: “For me, leaving the White House wasn’t nearly so much of a wrench as leaving our house in Alexandria.”

The Fords, married for 58 years, had four children, three sons and one daughter: Michael Gerald Ford, 61; John (Jack) Gardner Ford, 59; Steven Meigs Ford, 55, and Susan Elizabeth Ford [Vance Bales], who turned 54 on Wednesday.

President Ford passed away on Dec. 26, 2006, also at the age of 93. In honor of his years in Alexandria, his funeral motorcade passed through Alexandria on Dec. 30, as it traveled from Andrews Air Force Base en route to the U. S. Capitol. Hundreds of Alexandrians lined the streets to say farewell to one of their most famous residents.

Betty Ford was born Betty Bloomer in Chicago on April 8, 1918. She was a model and a dancer and was previously married before marrying Gerald Ford. She founded the Betty Ford Clinic after battling alcoholism.

Betty Ford also promoted awareness and research on breast cancer, with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation naming an award in her honor.

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Statement from Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library:

BETTY FORD

April 8, 1918 - July 8, 2011

 

 

The family of President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford issued the following statement:

"It is with great sadness that we inform you that our beloved mother Betty Ford has passed away at 93 years of age. She died peacefully today at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California.

Mother's love, candor, devotion, and laughter enriched our lives and the lives of the millions she touched throughout this great nation. To be in her presence was to know the warmth of a truly great lady.

Mother's passing leaves a deep void, but it also fills us with immeasurable appreciation for the life we and Dad shared with her."

Susan Ford Bales
Steven Meigs Ford
John Gardner Ford
Michael Gerald Ford

Funeral details for Mrs. Betty Ford, wife of the 38th President of the United States Gerald R. Ford, will be provided to both the media and the public and will be posted onwww.BettyFordMemorial.com as information becomes available.

For those considering sending flowers or making a contribution in honor of Mrs. Ford, her family has requested that contributions and donations in lieu of flowers be made to the organizations found on the Contributions page of the Betty Ford Memorial website.

To send a message of condolence to the Ford family, please see the Condolence Book page of theBetty Ford Memorial website.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids and Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor are offering extended hours in their lobby areas for those who wish to express their sympathy to the Ford family, including signing a condolence book.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Museum lobby will be open 24 hours a day until further notice beginning at 11:00 p.m. on Friday, July 8th in order to enable the public to sign a condolence book. The Museum's other areas, including all exhibit galleries and the gift store, will be closed for approximately 7 days beginning Saturday, July 9th.

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Library lobby will be closed until Monday, July 11th at 9:00 a.m. and then open 9:00 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.


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