Message of comity from Betty Ford

PALM DESERT, CALIF.

First ladies, past and present, and others remembered Betty Ford on Tuesday, not just for her decades-long work against substance abuse but also for her contributions to a political era when friendship among lawmakers helped them govern.

Speakers, including former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and journalist Cokie Roberts, hailed her as a force of nature whose boundless energy and enthusiasm, coupled with a steadfast determination to do what was right, pushed the country toward a commitment to equal rights for women and other causes.

Ford, who died at the age of 93 on Friday, reshaped the role of first lady with her plain-spoken candidness.

In doing so, she helped bring such previously taboo subjects as breast cancer into the public discussion as she openly discussed her own battle with the disease. She was equally candid about her struggles with drug and alcohol abuse, and her spearheading of the creation of the Betty Ford Center to treat those diseases has benefited thousands.

"Millions of women are in her debt today and she was never afraid to speak the truth even about the most sensitive subjects, including her own struggle with alcohol and painkillers," Carter said. "She got some criticism, but I thought she was wonderful and her honesty gave to others every single day."

Behind-the-scenes role

The former first lady mapped out plans for her funeral well in advance, including who would deliver her eulogies, and Roberts said she told her to be sure to let people know that politics does not have to be as acrimonious as it is today.

"Mrs. Ford wanted me to remind everyone of the way things used to be in Washington, and I wouldn't be surprised if she timed her death so she could deliver the message of comity when it was so badly needed," she said as former President George W. Bush, a Republican, sat in the audience next to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Democrat.

Sitting in the same pew with them were First Lady Michelle Obama, former First Lady Nancy Reagan and Carter. Other mourners who packed the church included Maria Shriver and Ford's four children.

Other invited guests included President Richard Nixon's daughters, Tricia Nixon-Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower; President Lyndon Johnson's daughters, Lucie Baines Johnson and Lynda Bird Johnson Robb; and Robb's husband, former U.S. Sen. Charles Robb.

After the funeral, members of the public were invited to file past the casket and sign a guest book until midnight.

Burial at Ford museum

Later Thursday, her body will be interred at the presidential museum along with her husband on what would have been Gerald Ford's 98th birthday.