White House Historical Association

Fate Suber

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"Fate Suber," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/1104.
Position
Butler
Years in President's House
circa 1961 – 1974
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard M. Nixon
Biography
Fate Suber Sr. was born on May 30, 1923, in Newberry, South Carolina.1 He worked as a laborer on his father’s farm, and later served in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s.2 By 1953, he had relocated to Annapolis, Maryland, perhaps related to his naval service, and he later lived in the Washington, D.C. area.3 White House Chief Usher J. B. West recalled introducing First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to the butlers, including Fate Suber, when she moved into the White House in 1961, suggesting he was likely there for at least some of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency; unfortunately, records are limited at this time.4 In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Suber had several heart attacks and in 1973, President Richard Nixon arranged for Fate and his wife, Doris, to stay at Camp David for a weekend to lift his spirits.5 Suber died on April 29, 1974, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.6 
  1. Fate Suber, U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Draft Registration Cards For South Carolina, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 185, Ancestry.com; “Fate Suber Sr.,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/216026750/fate-suber.
  2. Ibid; Fayette Suber, 1940 United States Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Caldwell, Newberry, South Carolina; Roll: m-t0627-03827; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 36-10, Ancestry.com; Fate Suber, U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2020, U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs; United States; U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs Birls Death File, 1850-2022; URL: https://www.va.gov/.
  3. “Marriage License Application,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), June 2, 1953, pg. 34.
  4. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Personal Papers. Textual Materials. Letitia Baldrige Files. Christmas: 1961 (2 of 2 folders). JBKOPP-SF037-009. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum; J. B. West, Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies (Coward, McCann, and Geoghegan, 1973), 208.
  5. President Richard Nixon’s Daily Diary December 16, 1969 – December 31, 1969, December 16, 1969, Richard Nixon Presidential Library, https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/virtuallibrary/documents/PDD/1969/020 December 16-31 1969.pdf; Oval Office 850-002, February 6, 1973, White House Tapes; Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Yorba Linda, California, https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/850/conversation-850-002.
  6. “Suber, Fate Sr.,” Washington Post, May 4, 1974, pg. D49. 
Birthplace
Newberry, South Carolina, USA
Arlington National Cemetery