Betty Ford
May 21, 1925 ~ October 9, 2017
Elizabeth Jean “Betty” Ford, a 60-year resident of Vienna, Va., 41 of which she spent working for the federal government, passed away in October. She was 92.
Ms. Ford was born in Kenosha, Wis., in 1925, the third of six children born to Emmett and Emma Boyle. She overcame a number of family setbacks in her youth: one brother was hit and killed by a car at age 9; another died of pneumonia at 18 months; she contracted tuberculosis which caused her to miss and repeat 3rd grade, and she and two sisters were foster-cared for several years during the Depression.
In 1945, after World War II ended, Ms. Ford came to Washington area and took a job as a civilian clerk with the Army Air Forces. She soon after enrolled in George Washington University, where she majored in English and graduated with honors in 1951. That same year, she married John J. Ford, also an honors English major at GW, and they were married until 1975.
After the Fords settled in Vienna in 1955, Betty was active in numerous local groups and activities. She held leadership positions in the Westbriar Civic Association, the Parent Teacher Association at two local elementary schools, and the local Democratic Party, among others.
In 1974, Ms. Ford resumed working for the federal government, first in the office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms, and then at the Environmental Protection Agency, where she served as a publications editor, speechwriter, and grants manager until her retirement in 2006, at age 81.
She is survived by two sons, Sean (Christine) and Brendan (Burke), five grandchildren: Melina, Charlotte, Brianna, Skyler, and Colin.
Friends may call Friday, Dec. 15, at Money & King Funeral Home, Vienna, from 2 to 4 p.m., and again from 6 to 8 p.m. A funeral service will be held Saturday, Dec. 16, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Marks Catholic Church in Vienna, with interment to follow at Flint Hill Cemetery in Oakton.
Ms. Ford was born in Kenosha, Wis., in 1925, the third of six children born to Emmett and Emma Boyle. She overcame a number of family setbacks in her youth: one brother was hit and killed by a car at age 9; another died of pneumonia at 18 months; she contracted tuberculosis which caused her to miss and repeat 3rd grade, and she and two sisters were foster-cared for several years during the Depression.
In 1945, after World War II ended, Ms. Ford came to Washington area and took a job as a civilian clerk with the Army Air Forces. She soon after enrolled in George Washington University, where she majored in English and graduated with honors in 1951. That same year, she married John J. Ford, also an honors English major at GW, and they were married until 1975.
After the Fords settled in Vienna in 1955, Betty was active in numerous local groups and activities. She held leadership positions in the Westbriar Civic Association, the Parent Teacher Association at two local elementary schools, and the local Democratic Party, among others.
In 1974, Ms. Ford resumed working for the federal government, first in the office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms, and then at the Environmental Protection Agency, where she served as a publications editor, speechwriter, and grants manager until her retirement in 2006, at age 81.
She is survived by two sons, Sean (Christine) and Brendan (Burke), five grandchildren: Melina, Charlotte, Brianna, Skyler, and Colin.
Friends may call Friday, Dec. 15, at Money & King Funeral Home, Vienna, from 2 to 4 p.m., and again from 6 to 8 p.m. A funeral service will be held Saturday, Dec. 16, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Marks Catholic Church in Vienna, with interment to follow at Flint Hill Cemetery in Oakton.
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