- NAME – born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. / Gerald Rudolph Ford
Library of Congress - NICKNAME(S) – Jerry / Junior or Junie as a child
- BIRTH / DEATH – July 14, 1913 Omaha, Nebraska / Rancho Mirage, Ca. (age 93)
- FATHER – wool trader / step father owned a paint and varnish business
- MOTHER – housewife
- COLLEGE – University of Michigan / Yale Law School
- WIFE – Elizabeth Bloomer Warren (Betty)
- KIDS – 4 (3 boys)
- PETS – golden retrievers (Liberty & puppy Misty – born in White House); Siamese (Shan)
- RELIGION – Episcopalian
- ANCESTRY – English
FIRSTS:
– first to visit Japan
– first to release his medical records
– first Eagle Scout
– first NCAA football champion
MA AND PA: His biological father was a millionaire. He was born Leslie King, Jr. He did not find out he was adopted until he was 13. One day while working a job in a restaurant, his father showed up and bought him lunch. He gave Gerald $25 dollars after they talked for a while and then exited his life again. His step father Gerald Ford dropped out in the eighth grade when his father died. He worked in a paint store and eventually owned the Ford Paint and Varnish Company which prospered. He met the divorced Dorothy King in church and it took a while to convince her to risk a second marriage. Her first had been a disaster. On her honeymoon with King, a man tipped his hat to her and the jealous Leslie beat her. The beatings continued, followed by bouts of remorse. Three years in and with an infant baby, she left for her parents when Leslie threatened her with a butcher knife. Gerald, Sr. was a different story. He bonded with the baby and insisted on renaming him after his new father. He was a civic leader and belonged to many organizations. Dorothy did charity work. He had three rules for his sons: be honest, work hard, always come to supper on time. He died of a heart attack after slipping on some ice at age 72. Dorothy, ever religious, died of a heart attack in church. Parents
BACKGROUND:
– was a star athlete in high school. He was a center on the football team and won the state championship his senior year
– he got a football scholarship at the University of Michigan where he won national championships in 1932 and 1933. He was an all-conference center. He turned down offers from the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions to attend Yale Law School.
– after college, opened a law firm
– enlisted in the Navy in WWII, was put in charge of physical training of recruits, then was transferred to the South Pacific where he saw some action and did well enough to be promoted to Lieutenant Commander before he was discharged in 1946
– elected to the House of Representatives in 1948; served 25 years
– member of the Warren Commission
FIRST LADY: Betty worked as a model after her father died to help with family finances. She went to a school of dance where she studied under the famous Martha Graham. She had a failed first marriage. On their first date, she knew Jerry was to be her second husband. He postponed the wedding until after his current election campaign because her being a divorcee and a former dancer, it might cost him votes. On their honeymoon, he took her to a Michigan football game. He was not a good husband and father since politics kept him away most of the time. He gave up to two hundred speeches a year. He was a terrible handyman. She basically raised the kids and ran the house. She was a Cub Scout den mother. The stress got to her and she began to suffer from what she thought was a pinched nerve. The doctors thought it was psychosomatic and she was put in therapy. She got hooked on tranquilizers. It got so bad that Jerry promised her he would retire in 1976, but he did not keep his promise. As First Lady, she was openly liberal and lobbied for the Equal Rights Amendment. When Jerry became Vice President, she told a reporter that she took a Valium a day. This was apparently partly due to having to raise her four kids basically by herself. Later, she developed a prescription drug problem which led to her founding the famous Betty Ford Clinic for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Many celebrities went there. She survived breast cancer. Kelly 343-344
Library of Congress
TRIVIA:
– his #48 was retired at the University of Michigan
– in 2003, he was awarded the Profiles in Courage Award by the JFK Library for his pardon of Nixon
– both he and Betty were models before they got married; he appeared in “Look” magazine modelling winter sports clothing and made the cover of Cosmopolitan in 1942
– when he married Betty, he was wearing one brown and one black shoe
– his daughter Susan had her high school prom at the White House
– he did not know Ford was not his biological father until he was 16
– he was the most athletic president since Teddy Roosevelt – skiing, swimming, tennis, and golf; unfortunately sometimes his golf shots went astray and hit people in the crowds
– he shared Nixon’s love of cottage cheese and ketchup for lunch; his favorite dessert was pecan ice cream with fresh peach slices
– he smoked a pipe
ANECDOTES:
DOG POOP – Once when the family was eating in the White House, one of their dogs had an accident on the carpet. One of the servants appeared with a rag, but Ford took it from him and cleaned up the mess himself. “No man should have to clean up for another man’s dog.” Boller p. 333
SLIP SLIDING – In a May, 1975 trip to Austria, Ford fell when coming down the airplane ramp. Later that day, he slipped twice on the staircase at the Residenz Palace. Boller p. 334
LOST IN THE WHITE HOUSE – One night Liberty, Ford’s golden retriever, licked his face while he slept at 3 in the morning. This meant Liberty needed to go potty. Ford put on his robe and slippers and proceeded out to the lawn and Liberty did her business. Upon attempting to return to his room, Ford could not find an unlocked door, although he and the dog wandered all over trying several. Finally, he banged on a wall and suddenly the Secret Service was swarming. Ford was chagrined, but he went back to sleep. Boller p. 339-40