Irvin Williams (March 18, 1926 – November 7, 2018) was an American gardener who was the longest serving White House head gardener, serving from 1962 to 2008. He was a key figure in the design of the White House Rose Garden.

Career

Williams began working as a government horticulturist during the Truman Administration 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 Rachel Lambert Mellon (August 9, 1910 – March 17, 2014), often known as Bunny Mellon, was an American horticulturalist, gardener, philanthropist, and art collector. She designed and planted a number of significant gardens, including the Whi ...

, which had been requested by president John F. Kennedy. After

Kennedy's assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle wit ...

in 1963, Lady Bird Johnson directed them to continue the redesign, a process that was finished in 1965. During the redesign, Williams convinced the National Park Service to allow him to uproot magnolia trees from the Tidal Basin 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 and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in N ...

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 BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

'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 Engle is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, originally known by the names of Millers Mill, Striders Crossing, Keller, and Engles Switch before its post office's name changed to Engle in 1910. The commu ...

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 socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

Williams died on November 7, 2018 in

Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...

. 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 Easterti ...

signed by president Bill Clinton.

References

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