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Breaking News, I suppose.

From CNN:

Betty Ford, the widow of late President Gerald Ford and a co-founder of an eponymous addiction center in California, has died at the age of 93, according to the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
Ford died Friday evening with family at her bedside, according to a family member.
Elaine Didier, the director of the Grand Rapids, Michigan, museum, confirmed Ford's death to CNN.

No other details were immediately available.
Born Elizabeth Anne Bloomer in Chicago, she grew up in Grand Rapids. At the age of 21, she moved to New York City to work as a dancer and model before heading back to the Midwest two years later.

One year after divorcing William Warren after five years of marriage, she wed Gerald Ford -- a former star football player at the University of Michigan and a decorated U.S. Navy veteran -- in 1948. That year, the woman now known as Betty Ford campaigned with her new husband on his successful campaign to become a U.S. congressman.
The family moved to Washington, where Gerald Ford served in the Capitol for 25 years prior to his being tapped, in 1973, as then-President Richard Nixon's vice president in place of Spiro T. Agnew.

Just over 10 months later, Betty Ford became first lady when her husband was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States.
She soon made headlines, discussing abortion, pre-marital sex and equal rights on CBS' "60 Minutes" and being named as Newsweek's 1975 "Woman of the Year."
But in 1978, just over one year after leaving the White House after her husband lost his campaign to remain president, Ford made headlines of a different kind. She entered the Long Beach Naval Hospital to be treated for alcohol and prescription painkiller abuse.
That same year, she published the first of two autobiographies, entitled "The Times of My Life." Ford would go on to become a high-profile example of someone who battled substance abuse issues, as well as a tireless advocate for treatment.
Her work paid dividends in October 1982 when, along with Leonard Firestone, she opened the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California. To this day, the center remains one of the most well-known and respected places nationwide for treatment of alcoholism and other drug dependencies.

Ford also fought to promote awareness and research on breast cancer, with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation eventually naming an award in her honor.
She earned numerous honors over her life, including a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 and the Congressional Gold Medal eight years later.
Her husband, Gerald Ford, died in 2006.

I don't know much about Mrs. Ford, but it seems she was quite the advocate for rehabilitating drug abusers--and I respect her for that.

 

[Souldriver]

RIP








Edit: As I only know her from the Betty Ford clinic, I wiki'd her to get some info on her life. Seems she was politically active to help equal rights for women. Good, good.

 

[Admiral Bone to Pick]

Coincidentally, Gerald Ford also lived to 93 (must have had good genetics).

(Also just saying "Rest in peace" or "RIP" is really lazy).

 

[Deleted member 81567]

rest in peace then.

 

[Ballistik]

RIP.

I just saw the news and came to GAF expecting the thread to be like two pages long already since news seems to hit here first! To my surprise, it is barely breaking news.

 

[X26]

Lived a nice, long, extremely accomplished life, good for her and her legacy

 

[lobdale]

A fireball destroyed France today, and Betty Ford is dead! Now what are the odds of that.

 

[Azriell]

I read it as "Betty White," and got really sad. Then I realized my error.

Mrs. Ford left her mark on this world, and she shouldn't be soon forgotten.

 

[hteng]

peace out!

 

[Kevtones]

She was a good woman. Rest in peace.

 

[GoutPatrol]

How's your wife, Nancy?

 

[lazybones18]

R.I.P.

 

[Rex Banner]

(Also just saying "Rest in peace" or "RIP" is really lazy).

It's true. Typing out a few extra words on an internet discussion forum is a much less lazy way to pay homage to an accomplished person.

 

[Admiral Bone to Pick]

It's true. Typing out a few extra words on an internet discussion forum is a much less lazy way to pay homage to an accomplished person.

Thanks for the biting sarcasm. I'm a fan of it.

It's not lazy because a person is writing it on an internet forum, it's lazy because anyone can say R.I.P. It's an empty sentiment.

 

[thebeeks]

A fireball destroyed France today, and Betty Ford is dead! Now what are the odds of that.

Well at least she wasn't eaten by wolves.

 

[soundahfekz]

Lot of death going down in GR lately, sheesh. RIP

 

[LQX]

The lines will be long in mourning this woman in Hollywood and the rich/famous circles as she has done a lot for them. R.I.P

 

[Neo C.]

Just read an article about Betty Ford. RIP

 

[Stahsky]

Thanks for the biting sarcasm. I'm a fan of it.

It's not lazy because a person is writing it on an internet forum, it's lazy because anyone can say R.I.P. It's an empty sentiment.

Me not posting at all would be an empty statement. But here I am, posting.

R.I.P.