US First Lady Betty Ford's funeral held

Mrs Ford, known for her work on drug and alcohol treatment and considered one of the most visible first ladies in US history, died on Friday at age 93.She was married to late President Gerald Ford, who succeeded Richard Nixon in 1974.The public funeral is being held at a desert church in southern California.Former occupants of the White House and other US dignitaries have gathered at a California church to honour late US First Lady Betty Ford.Also in attendance was Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was first lady from 1993 to 2000.Mrs Ford met and married her first husband, William Warren, in 1942 but divorced after five years.After studying dance at Bennington College in Vermont, she moved to New York City at the age of 21 to work as a dancer and model before heading back to the mid-western US two years later.Mrs Ford was born Elizabeth Anne Bloomer in Chicago in the state of Illinois in 1918 and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as one of three children.She was also outspoken on women's rights issues.She was best known for her work on substance and alcohol abuse, including founding the Betty Ford Center for drug and alcohol rehabilitation in Rancho Mirage, California, a facility where tens of thousands of addicts have been treated.Mrs Ford's family is to hold a second funeral for her in Michigan on Thursday.

Among the mourners on Tuesday were First Lady Michelle Obama, former President George Bush, former first ladies Nancy Reagan and Rosalynn Carter and former California First Lady Maria Shriver.