Betty Ford waits to be introduced for aA private memorial
for former First Lady Betty Ford will be
held in Palm Desert on Tuesday, with a eulogy to be delivered by former First
Lady Rosalynn
Carter, before her remains are flown to Michigan and laid to rest beside
her husband, a family representative said Saturday.
Ford, 93, died of
natural causes Friday afternoon, surrounded by family members at Eisenhower
Medical Center in Rancho Mirage. She had been hospitalized with a brief illness
but, contrary to some news reports, did not suffer a stroke, said Greg Willard,
the Fords’ longtime attorney.
Photos:
Life of former First Lady Betty Ford
Details of Ford’s illness
were not released, and no family members attended the news
conference.
Tuesday’s memorial will begin at 11:20 a.m. at St. Margaret’s
Episcopal Church in Palm Desert. Eulogies will be given by Carter, news
commentator Cokie Roberts and Geoffrey Mason, director of the Betty Ford
Center.
A public visitation will be held at the church starting at 3
p.m., with shuttles provided from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
As the
wife of Gerald
R. Ford, the nation’s 38th president, Betty Ford was an outspoken
advocate for women’s rights and health.
She is known worldwide for the
Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, a treatment center for alcohol and chemical
dependency that she founded after overcoming her own addiction to painkillers.