Betty Ford

Daughter of William S. Bloomer and Hortense Neahr of Chicago, Illinois. She was the youngest child and the only daughter in a family of 3 children. Her family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1920.

She moved to Greenwich Village in New York City in 1938, where she studied dance with Martha Graham and joined her dance troupe. She was also a model on Seventh Avenue for John Robert Powers modeling agency. She returned to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1941 where she was a fashion coordinator for a store where she worked as a teenage model. She also taught dance to underprivileged and disabled children in her spare time.

She is survived by her 4 adult children - Michael Ford (born in 1950); John also known as Jack Ford (born in 1952); Steven Ford (born in 1956) and her daughter, Susan Ford (born in 1957). She is survived by 7 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

Gave birth to her second child at age 33, a son John Gardner Ford on March 16, 1950. Child's father is her late second husband, Gerald Ford.

Gave birth to her first child at age 31, a son Michael Gerald Ford on March 14, 1950. Child's father is her late second husband, Gerald Ford.

Gave birth to her third child at age 38, a son Steven Meigs Ford (aka Steven Ford) on May 19, 1956. Child's father is her late second husband, Gerald Ford.

First Lady of the United States of America from 9 August 1974 until 20 January 1977, as wife of the thirty-eighth U.S. President, Gerald Ford.

Received the Women's International Center (W.I.C.) Living Legacy Award in 1998.

Then-current U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, honored Mrs. Ford with the Gerald Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 2005.

Her second husband, Gerald Ford, died on December 26, 2006 from heart failure at age 93 after 58 years of marriage.

As of August 27, 2010 at the age of 92 years, 4 months, and 19 days, she is the third longest-lived First Lady, after Bess Truman (1885-1982 97 years, 10 months, and 5 days) and Lady Bird Johnson (1912-2007 95 years, 6 months, and 19 days).