Former First Lady Betty Ford Dies at Age 93

Former first lady Betty Ford has died at age 93, the director of the Ford Museum and Library says.

Ford died Friday at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California.

Betty Ford was the wife of former president Gerald Ford. She married Mr. Ford two weeks before he was elected to his first term in Congress. Gerald Ford died in December 2006, after undergoing surgery for an undisclosed ailment in April 2007.

Betty Ford served as First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977. During her time in the White House, Ford was an outspoken advocate of women's rights -- encouraging the appointment of more women to senior government posts, supporting the U.N. International Women's Year in 1975, and supporting passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.In 1982, Mrs. Ford, together with Ambassador Leonard Firestone, founded the non-profit Betty Ford Center at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. Today, the Betty Ford Center is regarded as one of the top treatment facilities in the world.

"I was deeply saddened this afternoon when I heard of Betty Ford's death," fellow former first lady Nancy Reagan said in a statement. "She has been an inspiration to so many through her efforts to educate women about breast cancer and her wonderful work at the Betty Ford Center."

Former president George H. W. Bush also released a statement on the former first lady's death:

"Throughout her long and active life, Elizabeth Anne Ford distinguished herself through her courage and compassion," President Obama said in a statement.Her cause of death is unconfirmed.

"Barbara and I loved Betty Ford very much. She was a wonderful wife and mother; a great friend; and a courageous First Lady."

During her White House tenure, Mrs. Ford won acclaim for her candor, wit and courage as she fought breast cancer, severe arthritis and the twin addictions of drugs and alcohol.

But it was her Betty Ford Center, a desert oasis that rescued celebrities and ordinary people from addiction, that made her famous in her own right. She was modest about that accomplishment.

"People who get well often say, `You saved my life,' and `You've turned my life around,"' she recalled. "They don't realize we merely provided the means for them to do it themselves and that's all.

"That's a God-given gift as far as I'm concerned. I don't take any credit for providing anything that wasn't provided to me."

As she and their children led the nation in mourning him, Americans were reminded anew of her own contributions, as well as his. It was calculated then that the Betty Ford Center had treated 76,000 people

After the former president died Dec. 26, 2006, at age 93, his widow said: "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."