March 7 (UPI) — First lady Jill Biden and the U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday unveiled the artwork of a Forever stamp commemorating former first lady Betty Ford.
According to a statement from the USPS, the dedication ceremony for the Forever stamp will be held April 5 at the Annenberg Health Sciences Building located at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Betty Ford, who died in 2011, was the wife of 38th President Gerald R. Ford and was first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977.
Ford was thrown into the role of first lady after former President Richard Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal and her husband became the first unelected U.S. president.
The former first lady was famous for being open with the public about her medical conditions. During her time in the White House, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. She was open about her treatment whereas previous first ladies did not disclose their medical issues.
Ford’s daughter, Susan Ford Bales, attended the unveiling Wednesday, where she reflected on her mother’s cancer diagnosis.
“She said the time for women hiding this disease in shame and behind closed doors has to stop and who better to make that happen than the first lady of the United States,” Bales said. “So, mom announced to the public exactly, and I mean exactly, what was happening to her.”
Ford also was open about her substance use disorder and treatment. In 1982, she and former ambassador Leonard Firestone established the Betty Ford Center for substance dependency.
Ford is the seventh first lady to be honored with a U.S. postage stamp.
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