First Lady Betty Ford, A Trailblazer and Humanitarian

Today, we witnessed the memorial service for First Lady Betty Ford.  Three generations of Ford’s participated as well as the current First Lady, three former First Ladies and one former President.  While I certainly remember her from when her husband was President, and her work establishing the Betty Ford Clinic, the magnitude of her influence on many social issues really came together for me as she was eulogized both today and in the many obituaries over the last few days.  The most poignant was that of Cokie Roberts during today’s service.  Cokie spoke of how Mrs. Ford was close to her mother for decades.  How Gerald Ford was House Minority Leader when Hale Boggs (Cokie’s father) was Speaker of the House.  The two would work together to get the business of the country done, not like what we are seeing today in Washington.  When Congressman Boggs’ plane went down over Alaska, it was Betty Ford who comforted and assisted Mrs. Boggs and family.  Cokie said that while her father and President Ford were partisans and often disagreed, they were also friends with a single agenda of doing what they believed was best for the country.  Mrs. Ford requested that both Cokie and former First Lady Rosalyn Carter emphasize in their eulogies the importance of both sides of the isle working together.   A champion of substance abuse treatment, de-stigmatizing her own battles with abuse and with cancer, woman’s rights, advisor to her husband and a mother.  She helped to shift  popular belief and in death she sent a strong message to Washington.