Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: KJZ8-5WH
• FindaGrave Memorial ID: 14686534

Notes:

From FindaGrave:

Stepfather of President Gerald R Ford. He married Dorothy, the President's mother, after her divorce from Leslie L King, the President's biological father. He never formally adopted the future President, although some media refer to him as the President's adoptive father.

FamilySearch ID:
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/KJZ8-5WH

FindaGrave Memorial ID:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14686534

Gerald married Dorothy Ayer Gardner on 1 Feb 1917 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan. Dorothy (daughter of Levi Addison Gardner and Adele Augusta Ayer) was born on 27 Feb 1892 in Harvard, McHenry County, Illinois; died on 17 Sep 1967 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan; was buried after 17 Sep 1967 in Woodlawn Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Leslie Lynch King
• Group: Descendant of Revolutionary War Veteran
• Group: Famous Historical Figure
• Group: Researched Descendant
• Group: Veteran of World War II
• FamilySearch ID: L7BZ-71C
• FindaGrave Memorial ID: 4243
• Name Change From: 1935, Michigan; Leslie Lynch King, Jr.

Notes:

From FindaGrave:

38th United States President, 40th United States Vice President, US Congressman.

Born as Leslie Lynch King, Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska, his mother divorced his father the following year and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan where she remarried to Gerald R. Ford. The young boy's name was then changed to Gerald R. Ford, Jr.

He graduated from the University of Michigan and Yale Law School, and served in United States Navy during World War II.

In 1948 he married Elizabeth (Betty) Bloomer, and was elected as a Republican to represent Michigan's 5th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1949 to 1973. He became House Minority leader in 1965, and was a member of the Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Appointed Vice President by President Richard M. Nixon in 1973 after the resignation of Spiro Agnew, he became President of the United States when Nixon resigned in 1974 as a result of the Watergate scandal. He sought election to a full term in 1976 but was defeated by Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter in a close election.

He passed away at his home in Rancho Mirage, California.

Inscription
Lives committed to God, Country and Love.

Group:
DAR or SAR Eligible Descendant of a Revolutionary War Veteran

Group:
Famous People

Group:
Any individual in this study whose ancestry has been specifically researched

Group:
Person who served in World War II

FamilySearch ID:
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L7BZ-71C

FindaGrave Memorial ID:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4243

Name Change From:
His parents separated when he was just two weeks old. His mother divorced his father the following year after he was born, and they moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan where she remarried in 1917 to Gerald R. Ford, a Grand Rapids, MI paint salesman. The Fords began calling her son Gerald R. Ford, Jr., although his name was not legally changed until 1935.

Gerald R. Ford, Sr., never formally adopted the future President, although some media refer to him as the President's adoptive father.

Gerald married First Lady Elizabeth Anne "Betty" Bloomer on 15 Oct 1948 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan. Elizabeth was born on 8 Apr 1918 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; died on 8 Jul 2011 in Rancho Mirage, Riverside County, California; was buried on 12 Jul 2011 in Gerald R. Ford Museum, Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]