Bonner C. Arrington
Cite this Page
"Bonner C. Arrington," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/794.
- Position
- Carpenter
- Years in President's House
- 1950 – 1983
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Bonner Carter Arrington was born in Covington, Virginia on November 20, 1922. (1) In 1943, he married Alphadine “Deanie” Simmons. (2) In 1950, Arrington got a job at the Truman White House through his uncle, Melvon Carter, who worked in the carpenter shop. (3) It was a family affair– his wife, Deanie, later worked in the gift unit, her brother, Lee Simmons, was an engineer, and his brother, Howard, was a plumber. (4)
Bonner Arrington worked as a carpenter, but “often did a little of everything– from fixing stuck windows to setting up rooms for important dinners with visiting foreign leaders and making hand-carved gifts for them.” (5) After President Kennedy’s assassination, he assisted in hanging black mourning crape on the State Floor and was part of building the bier for Kennedy’s casket, remembering his death as the “saddest thing” he experienced while working at the White House. (6)
After thirty-three years at the White House, Arrington retired in 1983 and moved to South Carolina. (7) He died in Myrtle Beach on January 31, 2014. (8) - (1) “Bonner C. Arrington,” Sun-News (South Carolina), February 3, 2013, pg. A11.
(2) “Bonner Carter Arrington in the Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014,” Virginia Department of Health; Richmond, VA, USA; Virginia, Marriages, 1936-2014; Roll: 101167968, Ancestry.com. Deanie would also go on to work in the White House in the gift unit.
(3) “Serving First Family was a 365-Day Job,” News Journal (Mansfield, OH), August 18, 1992, pg. 11; “President Harry S. Truman's White House Staff,” Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/white-house-staff.
(4) Ibid; Frederick N. Rasmussen, Howard Bernard ‘Reds’ Arrington, 79; plumber kept White House flush,” Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2007, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-31-me-arrington31-story.html.
(5) “Serving First Family was a 365-Day Job,” News Journal (Mansfield, OH), August 18, 1992, pg. 11.
(6) “Goodbye to the White House After 33 Years,” Bonner County Daily Bee (Sandpoint, Idaho), October 27, 1983, pg. 2.
(7) “Presidential Mementos From 33 Years At The White House To Be Sold At Auction By Great Gatsby’s On Oct. 12,” CNBC, October 8, 2012, https://www.cnbc.com/2012/10/08/presidential-mementos-from-33-years-at-the-white-house-to-be-sold-at-auction-by-great-gatsbys-on-oct-12.html.
(8) “Bonner Arrington,” Legacy.com, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/myrtlebeachonline/name/bonner-arrington-obituary?id=10744120. - Birthplace
- Covington, Virginia, USA
- Related Workers
- Melvon O. CarterTrades, Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1929 – 1972
- Howard B. ArringtonTrades, 1946 – 1979
- Alphadine Simmons Arrington
- Lewis M. Simmons Jr.1961 – 1986
- Preston BruceUshers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1953 – 1975