# Interesting fact about Gerald Ford's wife Betty

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-gerald-fords-wife-betty/721619>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [June 4, 2015, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-gerald-fords-wife-betty/721619 "2015-06-04T12:01:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-gerald-fords-wife-betty/721619/1 "2015-06-04T12:01:38Z")

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I stumbled across this yesterday, and it blew me away. I’m surprised no one has mentioned it before.  
Gerald Ford always has been a surprising president when it comes to names. He was born **Leslie Lynch King Jr.** , after all. His mother remarried to Gerald Rudolff Ford, so they started calling him **Gerald Rudolff Ford Jr.** (with that spelling “Rudolff”), even though he was never adopted. He legally changed his name to **Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr.** (with the more common spelling) in 1935.  
You’d think that was pretty hard to beat, but his wife, Betty, was born **Elizabeth Ann Boomer** , then married William G. Warren, whom she divorced. This means that before she married the future president and became Betty Ford, she was -----

**Elizabeth Warren!**

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**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-gerald-fords-wife-betty/721619/2 "2015-06-04T14:45:53Z")

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Must…resist…drunk…Indian…joke.

(I say this as a fan of the person you spoilered, and of Betty Ford, and as a someone whose professional life is in great part dedicated to justice for indigenous peoples.)

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-gerald-fords-wife-betty/721619/3 "2015-06-04T14:48:58Z")

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> [@JKellyMap](#):
>
> Must…resist…drunk…Indian…joke.
> 
> (I say this as a fan of the person you spoilered, and of Betty Ford, and as a someone whose professional life is in great part dedicated to justice for indigenous peoples.)

Okay. I admit to being confused. What does anything I’ve written have to do with indigenous peoples? What’s the drunk Indian joke?

Spoiler if you must.

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-gerald-fords-wife-betty/721619/4 "2015-06-04T14:52:28Z")

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There has been a low level controversy (somewhat manufactured, IMO) about Elizabeth Warren claiming some Native American heritage.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-gerald-fords-wife-betty/721619/5 "2015-06-04T14:56:30Z")

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> [@Telemark](#):
>
> There has been a low level controversy (somewhat manufactured, IMO) about Elizabeth Warren claiming some Native American heritage.

Ah. I’m not thinking deviously enough.