Charles E. Ficklin

Charles Edward Ficklin Sr. was born in Amissville, Virginia, on February 20, 1913.¹ His father, James Strother Ficklin, was born into slavery and later became a free man. Charles Ficklin and his siblings spent their childhood working on the family farm in Amissville.² In 1928, Charles followed his sister, Annie, to Washington, D.C., and worked as a butler in Georgetown. 

In 1939, Charles Ficklin was hired at the Franklin D. Roosevelt White House in the same role, and later that year, he helped his brother John Ficklin get a job there as a pantryman. Many Ficklin family members went on to work at the White House over the years including his brother Samuel L. Ficklin and sisters Flossie Malachi and Mary Anderson.³ Charles briefly left his position at the White House to serve in the United States Navy during World War II, but returned to service afterward; in 1953, he was promoted to maitre d’.⁴ A recollection from Doorman Preston Bruce aptly captured his duties: “[Charles Ficklin] was the chief architect of [an] entire event– like the conductor of a symphony orchestra, he directed the thirty butlers, the five pantry girls, the seven carpenters, the four electricians, the chef and several cooks, the seven or eight housemen, and a number of florists, all of whom had to dovetail their work.”⁵ 

Ficklin also became close with the Kennedy family– so much so that after the assassination of President Kennedy, Charles Ficklin walked “with the family in the funeral procession, at Mrs. Kennedy’s request.”⁶ Charles retired from the White House in 1965, and his brother, John, took over as maitre d’.⁷ Charles Ficklin died on March 5, 1978, and was buried at Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery in Amissville, Virginia.⁸