Janet V. Bowen

Janet Virginia Bowen was born on October 13, 1918 in the small town of Reliance in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.¹ As a young woman, she worked as a clerk in a general store in her hometown.² By 1950, she lived in Arlington, Virginia, where she worked as an “Assistant Placement Director” at a “Hotel Training School,” according to the Census.³ 

Bowen began working at the White House as an assistant housekeeper in 1956 during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency.⁴ She remained in this position for several decades. As a housekeeper, Bowen helped clean and organize rooms in the Residence. During Richard Nixon’s presidency, and perhaps sooner, Bowen was also tasked with maintaining a record of all food purchased for the White House and deciding which items should be billed to the federal government versus the president. This was important since federal law mandated that the president pay for all food purchased for he and his family’s personal use, while the government paid for the food and drink served at State Dinners and other official White House functions.⁵ 

In 1969, when Head Housekeeper Peggy Carey resigned her post, First Lady Patricia Nixon considered Bowen for the job, but Bowen declined.⁶ Chief Usher J.B. West elaborated on Bowen’s decision in his memoir, Upstairs at the White House, stating that Bowen turned down several promotions during her tenure at the Residence: “Janet Bowen . . . always declined promotion to the taxing job of housekeeper [and] remained as assistant housekeeper to provide the necessary continuity from one administration to another.”⁷ Sometime between 1973 and 1986, she switched roles and became chief accountant for the White House where she maintained financial records for expenditures for the Residence.⁸ Bowen remained chief accountant until her retirement in 1997.⁹ 

Janet Bowen passed away on August 13, 2007, and was buried at Reliance Cemetery in her hometown of Reliance, Virginia.¹⁰