Gerald Rudolff Ford
| Gerald Rudolff Ford | |
|---|---|
Gerald Rudolff Ford (right) with his wife Dorothy Gardner Ford (center) and son Gerald R. Ford, Jr. (left) in 1948.
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| Born |
December 9, 1890 Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | January 26, 1962 (aged 71) Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation | Founder of Ford Paint and Varnish Company Politician |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy Ayer Gardner Ford (1917–1962, his death) |
| Children |
Gerald Ford (stepson) Thomas Gardner Ford Richard Addison Ford James Francis Ford |
| Parent(s) | George R. Ford Frances Pixley Ford |
| Relatives |
Michael Gerald Ford (step-grandson) Steven Ford (step-grandson) John Gardner Ford (step-grandson) Susan Ford Bales (step-granddaughter) Betty Ford (stepdaughter-in-law) |
Gerald Rudolff Ford (December 9, 1890 – January 26, 1962) was a Grand Rapids businessman and Republican politician who was the stepfather of U.S. President Gerald Ford and for whom Ford legally changed his name.
Ford was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he raised the future President. His parents were George R. and Frances (Pixley) Ford.
The senior Ford's father George Ford died in a train accident in 1903 forcing him to drop out of school to support the family. He was working as a paint salesman at the Grand Rapids Wood Finishing Company when he met the future President's mother Dorothy Ayer Gardner King. Dorothy had fled to Michigan from Omaha, Nebraska in 1913, 16 days after the President's birth, claiming that her husband (and her son's birth father), Leslie Lynch King, Sr., had physically abused her. She came to Grand Rapids to be near her parents, Levi Addison Gardner and Adele Augusta Ayer Gardner, who lived in the town.
The couple married on February 1, 1917 following Dorothy's divorce from King when the future President was three and began calling Dorothy's first son "Gerald."
Gerald Rudolff Ford and Dorothy Ford had three children – Thomas Gardner Ford (July 15, 1918 – August 28, 1995); Richard Addison "Dick" Ford (June 3, 1924 – March 20, 2015); and James Francis Ford (August 11, 1927 – January 23, 2001).
The President was to write later that in the household there were three rules for him and his half siblings: "tell the truth, work hard and come to dinner on time."
The elder Ford founded the Ford Paint and Varnish Company in 1929 just before the Great Depression. After the Depression hit, Ford asked his employees to work for $5/week and likewise paid himself the same salary until all could be paid more.
The future President was enrolled in the Grand Rapids school system under the name of his stepfather. When the President's birth father Leslie Lynch King reappeared in 1929 (or 1930 depending on accounts), he stopped at schools searching for a "Leslie King" before finding him at Grand Rapids South High School after asking for a "Junior Ford."
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