Wilson Jerman was a former White House butler who worked for 11 presidents, from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Barack Obama.
- Details of death: Died over the weekend at the age of 91 of COVID-19.
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Fifty-five years in the White House
Jerman got his first job in the White House in 1957, working as a cleaner. He was promoted to butler while President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) was in office, thanks to the strength of Jerman’s relationship with the president and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929–1994). He went on to serve as butler for nine more presidents, forming particularly close relationships with President George H.W. Bush (1924–2018) and his family, which continued when President George W. Bush followed in his father’s footsteps. After working full-time in the White House since 1957, Jerman moved to part-time status in 2003, continuing there until his retirement in 2012. First Lady Michelle Obama included a photo of Jerman in her 2018 memoir, “Becoming.”
What people said about him
Full obituary: The Hill
