Ray M. Hare Jr.
Cite this Page
"Ray M. Hare Jr.," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1030.
- Positions
- Usher
- Secret Service
- Years in President's House
- 1949 – 1976
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Ray Maxey Hare Jr. was born on September 4, 1920 in Coblenz, Germany to American parents working abroad. (1) During World War II, he served as first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service. (2) From 1949-1955, he worked as a Secret Service agent on the presidential protection team for presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. (3) In 1955, Hare was hired as an assistant usher at the White House, helping with a variety of administrative, fiscal, and personnel functions of the Residence under several chief ushers including Howell G. Crim, J. B. West, and Rex Scouten. (4) Maid Lillian Rogers Parks called him “the most nonchalant man in the White House.” (5) Ray Hare retired from White House service on January 3, 1976. (6) Hare passed away on October 15, 1999, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Thank you to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library for providing research assistance with this biography. - (1) Ray M Hare, 1950 United States Federal Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: All Places, Arlington, Virginia; Roll: 735; Page: 18; Enumeration District: 7-111, Ancestry.com; Ray Maxey Hare Jr, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
(2) “Hare, Ray M. Jr.,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgRIYXJlEgNSYXkaAU0-/.
(3) Anamarie Shreeves, “Local Man Shares White House Memories for Presidents Day,” Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, FL), February 15, 2010, pg. 4.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Lillian Rogers Parks, My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House (Fleet Publishing Co., 1961), pg. 92.
(6) Memorandum for: Jane Dannenhauer, January 13, 1976, White House Residence Staff-Updates, Jane Dannenhauer Files, Gerald Ford Presidential Library. - Birthplace
- Coblenz, Germany
- Related Workers
- Lillian Rogers ParksHousekeeping and Laundry, 1929 – 1960
- Howell G. CrimUshers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, circa 1930 – 1957
- James B. WestUshers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1941 – 1969
- Rex W. ScoutenUshers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, Curators, 1949 – 1997