Irvin Williams (March 18, 1926 – November 7, 2018) was an American gardener who was the longest serving

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

head gardener, serving from 1962 to 2008. He was a key figure in the design of the

White House Rose Garden The White House Rose Garden is a garden bordering the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., United States. The garden is approximately 125 feet long and 60 feet wide ( by , or about 684m2). It balances the Jacqueli ...

Career

Williams began working as a government horticulturist during the

Truman Administration Harry S. Truman's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 33rd president of the United States began on April 12, 1945, upon the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and ended on January 20, 1953. He had been Vice President ...

and worked on a variety of projects, including many at the White House. He was made head gardener of the White House in 1962 and was almost immediately assigned to work on a redesign of the Rose Garden with Bunny Mellon, which had been requested by president

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. After Kennedy's assassination in 1963,

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She had previously been Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 196 ...

directed them to continue the redesign, a process that was finished in 1965. During the redesign, Williams convinced the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

to allow him to uproot magnolia trees from the

Tidal Basin The Tidal Basin is a man-made reservoir located between the Potomac River and the Washington Channel in Washington, D.C. The Basin is part of West Potomac Park, is near the National Mall and is a focal point of the National Cherry Blossom Festiv ...

to be replanted in the Rose Garden, as Mellon believed they would complement the Jackson magnolia in the White House's south lawn. Williams described the tree as creating "an atmosphere" and "a structure of something living" outside the White House's living spaces. In 1981

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in ...

brought Bunny Mellon back to the White House to update her 1962 design, a process that again closely involved Williams. Under

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

's administration Williams was instructed to use only non-lethal means to deter garden

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

, including "fertilizer laced with Louisiana hot sauce" and peanuts "strapped to tree trunks" used to distract animals from freshly-planted flowers. Williams retired from working at the White House in 2008 after 46 years as head gardener. Over the course of his career, he worked for nine presidents.

Personal life

Williams was born in Engle, West Virginia, on March 18, 1926, to a farming family. He was married and had five children. After John F. Kennedy's assassination, his dog Pushinka was given to Williams by

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

. Williams died on November 7, 2018, in

Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, and a principal city of both Northern Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Rest ...

. While working at the White House, Williams began collecting items relating to his job and the White House. Much of his collection was sold in June 2022 at an estate sale, including eggs from the

White House Easter Egg Roll Egg rolling, or an Easter egg roll, is a traditional game played with eggs at Easter. Different nations have different versions of the game, usually played with hard-boiled, decorated eggs. History In Christianity, for the celebration of East ...

signed by president

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Irvin 1926 births 2018 deaths American gardeners White House Grounds People from West Virginia American collectors