Kitty Dukakis

Kitty Dukakis
Dukakis (left) in c. 1987
First Lady of Massachusetts
In role January 6, 1983 – January 3, 1991
Preceded by	Josephine King
Succeeded by	Susan Weld
In role January 2, 1975 – January 4, 1979
Preceded by	Jessie Sargent
Succeeded by	Josephine King
Personal details
Born	Katharine Dickson (1936-12-26) December 26, 1936 (age 80) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Nationality	American
Spouse(s)	John Chaffetz (?–?) Michael Dukakis (1963–present)
Children	John Dukakis Andrea Kara
Parents	Harry Ellis Dickson Jane Dickson
Religion	Judaism

Katharine Dickson Dukakis (born December 26, 1936), known as Kitty Dukakis, is the wife of former Massachusetts governor and U.S. presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.

Dukakis was born Katharine Dickson in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of Jane (née Goldberg) and Harry Ellis Dickson. Her paternal grandparents were Russian Jews; her mother was born to an Irish Catholic father and a Hungarian Jewish mother, and had been adopted by a family of German Jewish descent. Dukakis' father was a member of the first violin section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 49 years and also served as Associate Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. At age 19, she dropped out of college to marry John Chaffetz. They had one son, John. The marriage did not last and she moved to Brookline. Her former husband later remarried and had a son, Jason Chaffetz, who is now a Republican Congressman from Utah. Dukakis received her B.A. from Lesley College in 1963, the same year she married Michael Dukakis. She received a M.A. degree from Boston University School of Communication in 1982.

During the 1988 presidential election, a number of false rumors were reported in the media about the Dukakises, including the claim by Idaho Republican Senator Steve Symms that Katharine Dukakis had burned a United States flag to protest the Vietnam War. Republican strategist Lee Atwater was accused of having initiated these rumors.