Ford Family & Early Years

Mike Ford

Mike Ford is the oldest son of President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford. He is the Associate Director of the Pro Humanitate Institute at Wake Forest University and serves as lay leader at First Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Currently, he serves as a Trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.

John Schwarzlose

John Schwarzlose is president of the Betty Ford Center. James West and John Schwarzlose were interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on December 3, 2008 by Richard Norton Smith.

Harry Bosscher

Harry Bosscher was a childhood friend of President Gerald R. Ford. They attended South High School and played on the South High football team. Harry Bosscher was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on January 30, 2008 by Richard Norton Smith.

Greg Ford

Greg Ford is a nephew of President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford. Ford was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on May 13, 2010 by Richard Norton Smith.

Henry Haller

Henry Haller was the White House Executive Chef during Gerald R. Ford’s presidency. Haller served as the White House Executive Chef to five presidents from 1966 until 1987. Henry Haller was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on March 31, 2010 by Richard Norton Smith.

Jim Greenbaum

Jim Greenbaum is vice chairman of the Betty Ford Center. Greenbaum was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on December 5, 2008 by Richard Norton Smith.

Jim Trimpe

Jim Trimpe attended South High School with Gerald R. Ford. Trimpe, President Gerald R. Ford and the other 28 members from the South High School football team met annually to celebrate winning the Grand Rapids 1930 All-City Championship. This group was known as the 30-30 Club.

Joseph Staufer

Joseph Staufer was a neighbor of President and Mrs. Ford at their Beaver Creek, Colorado home. Staufer was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on June 26, 2010 by Richard Norton Smith.

Lilian Fisher

Lilian Fisher was a life-long childhood friend of Betty Ford. Fisher was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project by Richard Norton Smith.

Linda Burba

Linda Burba is a niece of President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford. Burba was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on May 8, 2009 by Richard Norton Smith.

Paul Jenkins

Paul Jenkins was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Betty Ford Center, as well as a Founding Trustee of the Eisenhower Medical Center. Jenkins was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on December 4, 2008 by Richard Norton Smith.

Peter Pocklington

Peter Pocklington owned a number of businesses in Canada and the U.S. Peter Pocklington was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on June 2, 2008 by Richard Norton Smith.

Fred Meijer

Fred Meijer was native of Michigan and close friend of President Gerald R. Ford. Meijer was Chairman of the Meijer supermarket chain. Meijer was an Honorary Pallbearer at President Ford’s funeral services in Grand Rapids.

Fred Green

Fred Green was an early real estate developer in Vail, Colorado who developed Eagle Vail. Green became a friend and an occasional golf partner of President Gerald R. Ford. Fred Green was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on June 23, 2010 by Richard Norton Smith.

Frank Weston

Frank Weston served with Gerald R. Ford in the U.S. Navy during World War II aboard the USS Monterey. Frank Weston was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on May 13, 2010 by Richard Norton Smith.

Robert Dupont

Robert DuPont was the first Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and served as the second White House Drug Czar under President Gerald R. Ford. DuPont became the founding President of the Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc. DuPont also served as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Steve Ford

Steve Ford is the youngest son of President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford. Currently, he serves as a Trustee and Chairman of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.

Susan Ford Bales

Susan Ford Bales is the youngest child of President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford. She is the Ship’s Sponsor of the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). Susan serves as a Trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, the President Gerald R. Ford Historical Legacy Trust, and the Elizabeth B. Ford Charitable Trust.

Tyne Berlanga

Tyne Berlanga is the daughter of Susan Ford Bales and granddaughter of President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford. Berlanga was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on June 24, 2010 by Richard Norton Smith.

Vaden Bales

Vaden Bales is the son-in-law of President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford and the husband of Susan Ford Bales. Vaden is an attorney with the Riggs Abney firm in Tulsa, OK. He is a Trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.

Wayne Hoffman

Wayne Hoffman was a friend of President Gerald R. Ford. Hoffman was the retired chairman of Tiger International, the Los Angeles-based parent company of the Flying Tiger Line. Wayne Hoffman was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on December 4, 2008 by Richard Norton Smith.

Werner Veit

Werner Veit began his career as a sports reporter at the Grand Rapids Herald in 1949. He moved to the Grand Rapids Press in 1959 where he would later become the Editor, Publisher and President of Booth Newspapers. He served on the Ford presidential museum committee.

William Seale

William Seale is a historian and the author of a number of books, including “The Presidents House: A History”. William Seale was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on March 21, 2011 by Richard Norton Smith.

Dick Ford

Dick Ford is Gerald R. Ford’s younger brother. He is a Trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation. Ford was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on November 4, 2008 by Richard Norton Smith.

Bill Laughlin

Bill Laughlin was a friend of President Gerald R. Ford and was involved in the AEI World Forum in Vail, Colorado. Laughlin was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on December 2, 2008 by Richard Norton Smith.

Bill Gill

Bill Gill was a friend of President Gerald R. Ford. Gill was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on May 7, 2009 by Richard Norton Smith.

Betty Monkman

Betty Monkman joined the staff of the White House Curator’s Office in 1967. Monkman later served as the Chief Curator of the White House from 1997 until 2002. Betty Monkman was interviewed for the Gerald R. Ford Oral History Project on Nomveber 17, 2009 by Richard Norton Smith.

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