James R. Ketchum

James “Jim” Roe Ketchum was born in Clyde, New York on March 15, 1939. He graduated from Colgate University in 1960 and then attended law school at Georgetown University. While at Georgetown, Ketchum took a job with the National Park Service (NPS) to help pay for school and was stationed at Arlington House in Arlington National Cemetery. When First Lady Mamie Eisenhower requested assistance with furnishings at the White House, the NPS sent Ketchum to help. A year later, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy hired him as a White House curatorial assistant and then promoted him to registrar in 1962.¹ 

Once hired, Ketchum worked alongside the Fine Arts Committee established by Mrs. Kennedy in 1961 to refurbish the White House and acquire historical objects and art for the White House Collection. Ketchum catalogued objects and gave lectures around the country to inform the public about the committee and its work. Ketchum worked closely with Mrs. Kennedy and claimed she inspired the committee members because “she worked so damnably hard” yet maintained a sense of humor.² In 1963, Mrs. Kennedy promoted Ketchum to curator, which he proved hesitant to accept because of his young age - he was only twenty-four. “Jack, they always said he was too young,” responded Mrs. Kennedy and promoted Ketchum anyway. When the White House issued a press release announcing his appointment, Mrs. Kennedy changed his age to twenty-nine.³ 

Ketchum was working at the White House when he heard of President Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963. In the following days, Mrs. Kennedy tasked Ketchum with photographing and documenting the late-president’s office for preservation.⁴ When Lyndon Johnson became president, Lady Bird Johnson asked the entire curatorial staff - Ketchum included - to stay on and continue their work. He worked for the White House until 1970 when he left due primarily to frustrations with President Nixon’s Chief of Staff H.R. “Bob” Haldeman. Ketchum claimed he grew upset when Haldeman diverted funds designated for curators toward social events at the White House. Ketchum spent the rest of his career as Senate curator at the U.S.Capitol. When he retired in 1995, Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole praised Ketchum as “the driving force behind the restoration of the old Senate and old Supreme Court Chambers, the President's Room, and countless other important treasures.” The Senate honored Ketchum by naming him curator emeritus.⁵ 

Ketchum and his wife Barbara spent their retirement near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. From retirement, Ketchum looked back fondly on his time in the White House, though he admitted the work required irregular hours that at times kept him away from his family. “At the White House, your life is never your own,” Ketchum said in an interview later in life, though he expressed it was worth it. “The Kennedy years, and the carryover into the Johnson years were just - you had to pinch yourself that you were there.”⁶ Ketchum passed away on February 21, 2024.⁷