Posted on May 21, 2020
National Archives Catalog / Via catalog.archives.gov
Wilson Roosevelt Jerman
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Wilson Roosevelt Jerman — who worked in the White House as a cleaner, butler, and maître d' for 11 US presidents over more than half a century — died Saturday from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, his family said.
Jerman was 91, his granddaughter Shanta Taylor Gay said in a Facebook post.
"My grandfather is a family-loving, genuine man," Jamila Garrett, another granddaughter, told Fox 5 in DC. "He was always about service, service to others. It doesn't matter who you were or what you did or what you needed."
Jerman last worked in the White House for President Barack Obama and his family, who honored him with a plaque and 11 coins, each representing every US president he worked with.
"With his kindness and care, Wilson Jerman helped make the White House a home for decades for First Families, including ours," former first lady Michelle Obama said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. "His service to others—his willingness to go above and beyond for the country he loved and all those whose lives he touched—is a legacy worthy of his generous spirit. We were lucky to have known him. Barack and I send our sincerest love and prayers to his family."
Shanta Taylor Gay
on Tuesday
✨ ✨ Turn in tonight at 10pm on fox 5 new! My Grandfather (Wilson Jerman) story will be shared. On May 16 my grandfather passed 🕊💔due to Covid-19. He was the oldest Butler/Matri D for the WHITE HOUSE alive since Former President Eisenhower administration, he retired in 2012 with Former President Obama. Fox5 News was his favorite station. His legacy will live on!! RIP GRANDAD
Facebook: shanta.taylorgay
Jerman began working at the White House in 1957 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower as a cleaner, then was promoted to butler under President John F. Kennedy.
Garrett told Fox 5 her grandfather was promoted in part thanks to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
According to the White House Historical Association, Jerman worked full-time in the White House from 1957 to 1993.
He worked part-time beginning in 2003 and left the White House in 2012 under President Barack Obama.
Director Lee Daniels made a 2013 film, The Butler, about Eugene Allen, who also began working in the White House in 1952 and served under multiple presidents.
During his career, Garrett said he fostered relationships with the families of past presidents, particularly the Kennedys, the Bushes (during the administrations of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush), and the Obamas.
A 2009 photo of the Obamas inside an elevator being operated by Jerman was included in Michelle Obama's book, Becoming.
Jerman began working at the White House in 1957 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower as a cleaner, then was promoted to butler under President John F. Kennedy.
Garrett told Fox 5 her grandfather was promoted in part thanks to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
According to the White House Historical Association, Jerman worked full-time in the White House from 1957 to 1993.
He worked part-time beginning in 2003 and left the White House in 2012 under President Barack Obama.
Director Lee Daniels made a 2013 film, The Butler, about Eugene Allen, who also began working in the White House in 1952 and served under multiple presidents.
During his career, Garrett said he fostered relationships with the families of past presidents, particularly the Kennedys, the Bushes (during the administrations of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush), and the Obamas.
A 2009 photo of the Obamas inside an elevator being operated by Jerman was included in Michelle Obama's book, Becoming.
Samantha Appleton/White House via Getty Images
His granddaughter Shanta Taylor Gay told CNN her grandfather had a stroke in 2011, and the Obamas looked after his well-being and sent flowers.
Garrett said despite working for US presidents, her grandfather's focus was service for others.
"I want the world to remember my grandfather as someone who was really authentic, always being yourself," Garrett said. "That's what he taught our family."
Salvador Hernandez is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles.
Contact Salvador Hernandez at salvador.hernandez@buzzfeed.com.
Wilson Jerman: Ex-White House butler dies of coronavirus
SAMANTHA APPLETON
Wilson Roosevelt Jerman with Michelle and Barack Obama
A former White House butler, who worked for 11 presidents in a career that spanned five decades, has died of coronavirus aged 91.
It was Jackie Kennedy who noticed Wilson Roosevelt Jerman while he was working as a cleaner in the White House.
The then First Lady had him promoted, and from then on he worked as a butler.
"She was instrumental in ensuring that that happened," his granddaughter, Jamila Garrett, told Fox 5.
Decades later Mr Jerman was commemorated by another First Lady, appearing in a photo in Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming.
Paying tribute after his death, Mrs Obama said her family were "lucky to have known him".
"With his kindness and care, Wilson Jerman helped make the White House a home for decades of First Families, including ours," she said in a statement to NBC News.
"His service to others - his willingness to go above and beyond for the country he loved and all those whose lives he touched - is a legacy worthy of his generous spirit."
He died with coronavirus last weekend.
A former White House butler, who worked for 11 presidents in a career that spanned five decades, has died of coronavirus aged 91.
It was Jackie Kennedy who noticed Wilson Roosevelt Jerman while he was working as a cleaner in the White House.
The then First Lady had him promoted, and from then on he worked as a butler.
"She was instrumental in ensuring that that happened," his granddaughter, Jamila Garrett, told Fox 5.
Decades later Mr Jerman was commemorated by another First Lady, appearing in a photo in Michelle Obama's memoir Becoming.
Paying tribute after his death, Mrs Obama said her family were "lucky to have known him".
"With his kindness and care, Wilson Jerman helped make the White House a home for decades of First Families, including ours," she said in a statement to NBC News.
"His service to others - his willingness to go above and beyond for the country he loved and all those whose lives he touched - is a legacy worthy of his generous spirit."
He died with coronavirus last weekend.
COURTESY OF FAMILY
Wilson Roosevelt Jerman began working at the White House in 1957
Mr Jerman's family members say he stood out not just to the Kennedys, who were in the White House during 1961-63, and the Obamas, who lived there from 2009 to 2017, but others he met in his roles.
Mr Jerman's career began in 1957 during the Eisenhower administration. In his last position, he served as a maître d' in the Obama White House.
He left his position in 2012, and President Obama honoured him with a series of plaques, one that represented each of the presidents he had served, Mr Jerman's granddaughter Shanta Taylor Gay told CNN.
He remains an important figure for those who study the history of African Americans and their role in political life.
Like other African-American men of his generation, he showed dignity while serving in one of the few positions that was available to him at the time, said Ohio State University's Koritha Mitchell, author of From Slave Cabins to the White House.
She said he must have found it satisfying to end his career in the way that he did.
He was working for Mr Obama, "a dignified president who was also African American", she said, adding: "That must have felt like a victory."
Mr Jerman's family members say he stood out not just to the Kennedys, who were in the White House during 1961-63, and the Obamas, who lived there from 2009 to 2017, but others he met in his roles.
Mr Jerman's career began in 1957 during the Eisenhower administration. In his last position, he served as a maître d' in the Obama White House.
He left his position in 2012, and President Obama honoured him with a series of plaques, one that represented each of the presidents he had served, Mr Jerman's granddaughter Shanta Taylor Gay told CNN.
He remains an important figure for those who study the history of African Americans and their role in political life.
Like other African-American men of his generation, he showed dignity while serving in one of the few positions that was available to him at the time, said Ohio State University's Koritha Mitchell, author of From Slave Cabins to the White House.
She said he must have found it satisfying to end his career in the way that he did.
He was working for Mr Obama, "a dignified president who was also African American", she said, adding: "That must have felt like a victory."
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