Betty Ford

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn have praised the late former first lady Betty Ford as “a remarkable political spouse’’ who improved mental health and substance abuse care and spoke her mind. In a statement Friday after Ford died at age 93, the Carters said: “Rosalynn and I are saddened by the passing of Betty Ford, a close personal friend and our frequent partner in bipartisan efforts to improve mental health and substance abuse care in our nation.’’ The statement went on to say that Betty Ford’s “courageous candor helped forge a new era of...

The Southern California desert home of former President Gerald Ford has been sold for nearly $1.7 million. Ford and former first lady Betty Ford lived in the Rancho Mirage five-bedroom home for 30 years. The former president was 93 when he died in 2006 and Mrs. Ford was 93 when she died last July. The single-story home sits on 1.4 acres overlooking the 13th fairway at the Thunderbird Country Club. The Desert Sun of Palm Springs ( http://mydesert.co/GKfou0) reports escrow closed on Thursday.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - With a military honor guard carrying her casket, Betty Ford returned yesterday to the church where she and her husband got married more than 60 years ago, a wedding that launched the unassuming Michigan couple on an unexpected path to the White House. Ford's children were joined for the final memorial service by prominent political figures and hundreds of mourners from her hometown of Grand Rapids. The crowd outside Grace Episcopal Church stood in hushed silence as nine pallbearers brought her casket inside while softly counting out military cadence.

THANK YOU, Ellen Goodman, for your timely op-ed on a woman's right to choose ("Assault on reproductive rights GOP is going beyond fighting Roe v. Wade to target contraception," Jan. 21). Many women today do not remember the battle we fought and won. As that last great unscripted Republican first lady, Betty Ford, said, "Having babies is a blessing, not a duty. " This election is not about the economy, stupid. Pat Tyler Turner Ipswich

In a 2005 speech at Stanford University, Apple Inc. cofounder Steve Jobs, who had recently undergone cancer treatment, referred to death as "life's change agent. " Everyone's time is limited, he said, "so don't waste it living someone else's life. " Over the ensuing six years, Jobs introduced a series of technologically sophisticated, elegantly designed products that revolutionized how information is communicated and consumed. His death in October, at age 56, prompted an outpouring of tributes.

THANK YOU, Ellen Goodman, for your timely op-ed on a woman's right to choose ("Assault on reproductive rights GOP is going beyond fighting Roe v. Wade to target contraception," Jan. 21). Many women today do not remember the battle we fought and won. As that last great unscripted Republican first lady, Betty Ford, said, "Having babies is a blessing, not a duty. " This election is not about the economy, stupid. Pat Tyler Turner Ipswich

Because President Obama has been vacationing on Martha's Vineyard this week, designer Lorraine Parish decided to have a little fun with the window display at her Vineyard Haven shop. Parish put the faces of several first ladies on mannequins, and then dressed them consistent with each woman's personal style. "I played with Barbies when I was a kid, and I guess I still am," said Parish, who has been on the island for 31 years. "These women are becoming real to me. They're my girls, and I'm dressing them.

The Southern California desert home of former President Gerald Ford has been sold for nearly $1.7 million. Ford and former first lady Betty Ford lived in the Rancho Mirage five-bedroom home for 30 years. The former president was 93 when he died in 2006 and Mrs. Ford was 93 when she died last July. The single-story home sits on 1.4 acres overlooking the 13th fairway at the Thunderbird Country Club. The Desert Sun of Palm Springs ( http://mydesert.co/GKfou0) reports escrow closed on Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Hyman H. Bookbinder, a Washington lobbyist for Jewish causes who danced the hora with Betty Ford, sewed his own bow ties, and had a recipe for beef cabbage soup that made Vice President Hubert Humphrey swoon, died July 21 at the Springhouse assisted living facility in Bethesda, Md. He was 95 and had complications from dementia. Mr. Bookbinder - or "Bookie," as he was known to presidents, senators, and civil rights leaders - spent his early Washington career as a lobbyist for the AFL-CIO, assistant director in the US Office of Economic Opportunity, and poverty...

SPRINGFIELD - On the late September day of my arrival at Lathrop House, innkeeper Diana Henry was harvesting beans for the soup pot that simmered on her stove. Her two cats pranced over to greet me. With a pleasantly distracted air she showed me through the common rooms paneled in India oak, teased out my life story, offered a bowl of soup, and repeated an ancient Roman saying that's still tucked in my journal with a sprig of herb: "Why should a man die if he has sage in his garden?"

In a 2005 speech at Stanford University, Apple Inc. cofounder Steve Jobs, who had recently undergone cancer treatment, referred to death as "life's change agent. " Everyone's time is limited, he said, "so don't waste it living someone else's life. " Over the ensuing six years, Jobs introduced a series of technologically sophisticated, elegantly designed products that revolutionized how information is communicated and consumed. His death in October, at age 56, prompted an outpouring of tributes.

Because President Obama has been vacationing on Martha's Vineyard this week, designer Lorraine Parish decided to have a little fun with the window display at her Vineyard Haven shop. Parish put the faces of several first ladies on mannequins, and then dressed them consistent with each woman's personal style. "I played with Barbies when I was a kid, and I guess I still am," said Parish, who has been on the island for 31 years. "These women are becoming real to me. They're my girls, and I'm dressing them.

WASHINGTON - Hyman H. Bookbinder, a Washington lobbyist for Jewish causes who danced the hora with Betty Ford, sewed his own bow ties, and had a recipe for beef cabbage soup that made Vice President Hubert Humphrey swoon, died July 21 at the Springhouse assisted living facility in Bethesda, Md. He was 95 and had complications from dementia. Mr. Bookbinder - or "Bookie," as he was known to presidents, senators, and civil rights leaders - spent his early Washington career as a lobbyist for the AFL-CIO, assistant director in the...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - With a military honor guard carrying her casket, Betty Ford returned yesterday to the church where she and her husband got married more than 60 years ago, a wedding that launched the unassuming Michigan couple on an unexpected path to the White House. Ford's children were joined for the final memorial service by prominent political figures and hundreds of mourners from her hometown of Grand Rapids. The crowd outside Grace Episcopal Church stood in hushed silence as nine pallbearers brought her casket inside while softly...

Former President George Bush called the late Betty Ford a great friend and courageous first lady. Bush, the 41st president, and his wife, Barbara, issued a statement from Kennebunkport, Maine, on Friday after Ford died at age 93. Ford overcame drug and alcohol addiction and was the inspiration for her Betty Ford Center. The elder Bush said the Ford Center has helped change the lives of thousands of people and will be “her lasting legacy of care and concern.’’ Former President George W. Bush, the 43rd president, said...

President Barack Obama says former first lady Betty Ford left a legacy of courage, compassion and inspiration to countless others. In a White House statement, the president said that as first lady, Mrs. Ford was a powerful advocate for women’s health and women’s rights. In his words, she “distinguished herself through her courage and compassion.’’ He noted that after she left the White House, Mrs. Ford helped reduce the social stigma surrounding addiction and inspired thousands to seek much-needed treatment.

McALLEN, Texas - Anne Armstrong, a longtime powerful Republican who served as US ambassador to Great Britain in the Ford administration, died yesterday, her office said. She was 80. Ms. Armstrong had battled cancer and had been in a Houston-area hospice for about a week, her assistant Kay Hicks said. Ms. Armstrong and her husband, Tobin, were Republican stalwarts. She was a national leader of the Republican Party and a Cabinet-level adviser to Presidents Nixon and Ford. Ms. Armstrong's name was again in the news in 2006 when Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Gerald R. Ford was laid to rest on the grounds of his presidential museum yesterday after eight days of mourning and remembrance that spanned the country, from the California desert to the nation's capital and back to Ford's boyhood home. The burial at sunset capped the official mourning for the 38th president, whose casket traveled more than 2,700 miles before reaching its final stop on a hill overlooking a river at the museum in Ford's hometown. At a graveside service that included a 21-gun salute and a 21-aircraft flyover, Vice...

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn have praised the late former first lady Betty Ford as “a remarkable political spouse’’ who improved mental health and substance abuse care and spoke her mind. In a statement Friday after Ford died at age 93, the Carters said: “Rosalynn and I are saddened by the passing of Betty Ford, a close personal friend and our frequent partner in bipartisan efforts to improve mental health and substance abuse care in our nation.’’ The statement went on to say that Betty Ford’s “courageous candor helped forge a new era of...

Betty Ford, whose frankness as wife of the 38th president of the United States about her struggles with breast cancer and substance abuse won her widespread admiration and brought heightened public awareness of those afflictions, died yesterday at 93 in Palm Springs, Calif., according to a family friend. Mrs. Ford, who once called the day Gerald R. Ford Jr. was sworn in as president “the saddest day of my life,’’ later came to say “I flowered’’ while in the White House, relishing the fact that “When I spoke, people listened.’’ Speak...