[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10877]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          BETTY FORD MEMORIAL

  (Mr. AMASH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. AMASH. Madam Speaker, it is with great sadness that west Michigan 
learned on Friday of the passing of our First Lady, Betty Ford.
  The First Lady spent most of her life in Grand Rapids. A graduate of 
Central High School, she worked in a department store downtown and was 
a dance instructor. Early on, Mrs. Ford showed her heart for the 
disadvantaged in our community, teaching dance to children who were 
physically disabled, deaf, and blind.
  A mutual friend introduced Mrs. Ford to Jerry in 1947. A successful 
lawyer and former star of the University of Michigan's football team, 
the future President was not quite in public life when they met. No one 
could have foreseen the set of circumstances that thrust the Fords into 
the White House, but Mrs. Ford took the challenge with gusto.
  As First Lady, she revealed many of her struggles to the public so 
that she could help others with similar difficulties. In the 1970s, she 
publicly spoke about her battle with breast cancer, which was not often 
discussed during that time. In the 1980s, she took the lessons she 
learned battling alcoholism to found a number of foundations and 
institutes dedicated to helping others with the condition.
  Betty Ford honored west Michigan with her public service, humor, and 
grace. We are proud to have called such a fine citizen one of our own.

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