Calvin A. Surette
- Position
- Carpenter
- Years in President's House
- 1962 – 1989
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
Calvin Augustin Surette was born on February 8, 1928, in Salem, Massachusetts.1 He served as a technical engineer in the U.S. Army during World War II, and afterward worked for General Electric Company (known today as GE) at their headquarters in Lynn, Massachusetts.2
Surette worked as a carpenter and cabinetmaker at the White House from 1962 to 1989.3 White House carpenters construct furniture, stages, display cases, and other items for use onsite, and take on other tasks as needed including laying tile, installing windows and doors, repairing floors and locks, and more. Surette was also a charter member of the White House Mansion Staff Open, a golf tournament hosted by and for members of the Executive Residence staff.4
Further information about Surette’s life and career is limited, but he spent his final years in Florida. Calvin Surette died on May 17, 2018, and was buried at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.5
- “Birthdays,” Undated, folder: folder “Birthdays (Residence Staff),” box 29, Betty Ford White House Papers, Gerald R. Ford Library, https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0018/81556614.pdf; Calvin Augustine Surette in U.S., Korean War Era Draft Cards, 1948-1959, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975; Record Group Number: 147; Series: Post-WWII through Vietnam Era Selective Service Records, Massachusetts; Series Number: 147-76A-185, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62234/records/9484100.
- Ibid; “Calvin Augustin Surette,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/190651409/calvin-augustin-surette.
- White House Office of the Curator, e-mail message to author, March 16, 2026. See also “Executive Residence Alphabetical Personnel Roster,” 88-09-03, folder Personnel (Residence) - [Staffing Reports] (2), Office of the Executive Residence: Usher’s Office: Records, 1981-1989, Ronald Reagan Library; “Length of Service Emblems,” May 23, 1986, Office of the Executive Residence: Usher’s Office: Records, 1981-1989, Personnel (Residence) – [General, 1972-1987] (2), Ronald Reagan Library.
- “Charter Members of the White House Mansion Staff Open,” White House Historical Association Digital Archives, https://archives.whitehousehistory.org/fotoweb/archives/5006-Digital-Archives-WHHA/Main Index/Main Index/Henry Haller Collection/1128323.tif.info.
- “Calvin Augustin Surette,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/190651409/calvin-augustin-surette.
- Birthplace
- Salem, Massachusetts, USA
- Florida National Cemetery