Visitors to the Richard Nixon Library are invited to sign a condolence book for First Lady Betty Ford, which will be sent to her family. The book will be available until the end of the week.
As First Lady, Mrs. Ford brought attention to issues of national social concern, including support for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. A close friend and confidant of First Lady Pat Nixon, Mrs. Ford always spoke highly of her predecessor and aimed to carry on much of the work begun by Mrs. Nixon in regard to the refurbishment of the White House.
She later became an outspoken advocate for breast cancer, as well as alcohol and prescription drug abuse education and treatment.In 1982, she co-founded the Betty Ford Center, the nation’s foremost alcohol and drug rehabilitation clinic, where over 90,000 people have sought help and been treated. Through Mrs. Ford’s charity and vision, thousands of lives have been saved.
The Fords attended the dedication ceremonies for the Nixon Library on July 19, 1990, the First Lady’s funeral in 1993, and President Nixon’s state funeral in 1994. The Nixon Foundation is honored to have hosted Mrs. Ford at the Nixon Library in May 1997 to adoring crowds.
Photo: First Lady Betty Ford plants a rose bush in the Nixon Library gardens to kick off the Library’s 1997 Spring Garden Festival, May 12, 1997