J. B. West
| J. B. West | |
|---|---|
 J. B. West circa 1959 as depicted in the Eisenhower staff book | |
| Born |
July 12, 1912 Afton, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died |
July 18, 1983 (aged 71) Arlington County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | White House Chief Usher |
James Bernard West (July 27, 1912 – July 18, 1983), known as J. B. West, was Chief Usher at the White House in Washington, D.C., from 1957 to 1969. His best-selling book, Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies (with Mary Lynn Kotz), documents his time in the executive mansion and is considered a good source of material on the First Families he served.
Biography
West was born in Afton, Iowa,[1] on July 27, 1912, to William and Sarah (née McVay) West. He graduated from Creston High School in 1930 and moved to Washington in 1939, where he worked in the Veterans Administration.
West began work in the White House as assistant to the chief usher on March 1, 1941.[2] He was promoted to Chief Usher when Crim retired in 1957. Letitia Baldridge, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's social secretary, called him "the miracle maker of the White House".[3] Mrs. Kennedy herself gave him a vermeil cigarette case inscribed "With deep appreciation for Jan. 20, 1961 - Nov. 22, 1963".[3] With a staff of 72 and budget of $750,000, West oversaw the day-to-day operation of the White House, the executive mansion's maintenance and renovation, and planning and execution of both formal and informal White House events. These included the funeral of John F. Kennedy and the wedding of Lynda Bird Johnson.
West announced his retirement from the White House on November 14, 1968.[1] According to author Ronald Kessler, however, an investigation into missing items at the White House had discovered that West let friends into the White House for after-hour tours and some of them had stolen White House mementos. The investigation also concluded West was a homosexual, which at the time made him a blackmail/security risk. West was forced to retire, or be dismissed.[4] West left the White House on March 1, 1969.[3]
Although West said he had no intention of writing his memoirs,[1] in 1973 he wrote Upstairs at the White House: My Life With the First Ladies in 1973. It became a best-seller.[5] Jonathan Yardley of The Washington Post later characterized West's book as one of two of the most useful memoirs written by a White House staffer, President, First Lady, or member of the First Family.[6]
West died on July 18, 1983, at Northern Virginia Doctors Hospital (now Virginia Hospital Center) in Arlington County, Virginia, of respiratory failure.[5] He was survived by his wife, Zella, and his daughters Sally West and Kathy West Langhoff.[5]
References
- 1 2 3 "White House Usher J.B. West to Retire". The Washington Post. November 15, 1968. p. B2.
- ↑ West & Kotz 1973, p. 7.
- 1 2 3 Shelton, Isabelle (May 11, 1969). "A New Man in the White House". The Sunday Star. p. 45.
- ↑ Kessler 1996, p. 50.
- 1 2 3 "J.B. West, White House Aide Who Served 6 First Families". The New York Times. July 21, 1983. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
- ↑ Yardley, Jonathan (September 6, 2005). "A Presidential Pollyanna". The Washington Post. p. C7.
Bibliography
- Kessler, Ronald (1996). Inside the White House. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780671879198.
- West, J.B.; Kotz, Mary Lynn (1973). Upstairs at the White House: My Life With the First Ladies. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. ISBN 069810546X.
External links
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