Betty FordBetty Ford was born on April 8, 1918 in Chicago. She lived in Denver and Chicago and then moved to Grand Rapids when she was 2 years old. His father was William S. Bloomer who worked for the Royal Rubber Company and traveled, trying to convince companies to buy their products. His mother was HortenseNeahr Bloomer who constantly wrote letters to her husband. He had two older brothers, Bill and Bob. Bill was 7 years older and Bob was 5 years older. Every summer they went to their cottage on Whitefish Lake. They also went there on weekends and invited many friends. He played the piccolo, the piano and took dance lessons. She was also a tomboy and wanted to play sports with her brothers and their friends. In 1929, when the stock market crashed, they lost a lot of money and had to cut back. He should have helped more around the house. At fourteen she was confirmed as an Episcopalian. His father was a Christian Scientist and his mother was an Episcopalian. He went to high school at Central High in Grand Rapids. Every day after school she went straight to dance lessons. On Saturday afternoons he gave dance lessons for 50 cents. When he was 16 his father died of carbon monoxide poisoning while working on his car. Things got a little tougher because of the Great Depression. Then in 1936 he graduated ...