Presidential Biographies | Ford Administration - Post-presidential Years

Post-presidential Years

In 1977 Ford and his wife moved to Rancho Mirage, California. He supported his wife as she struggled successfully to cope with her alcoholism and addiction to painkillers. Betty Ford went on to establish the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, a treatment facility for those addicted to alcohol and other chemicals.

None of Ford's children entered politics. Mike Ford became a minister; John (Jack) Ford a park ranger; Steve Ford a rancher; and Susan Ford a photographer. All married and had children. In 1979 Ford published his memoirs, titled A Time To Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford. He also has built a lucrative post political career as a speaker and a member of several corporate boards, remaining active in Republican Party politics and supporting the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.