White House Historical Association

Flossie F. Malachi

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"Flossie F. Malachi," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/905.
Position
Pantrywoman
Years in President's House
circa 1945 – 1953
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidency
Harry S. Truman
Biography
Flossie Malachi (née Ficklin) was born on July 31, 1925, in Amissville, Virginia. Her father, James Strother Ficklin, was born into slavery and later became a free man. (1) Her brothers Charles and John Ficklin worked full-time as butlers at the White House, and during Truman’s presidency, Flossie and her sister, Mary Anderson, were pantry girls “on-call, brought in to perform various domestic tasks related to social and residential activities in the White House.” Another brother, Samuel, was also a part-time worker on the staff from 1941-1991. (2) Flossie recalled that during one Truman-era event, Butler John Pye commented: “There’s a Ficklin here, and a Ficklin there. Everywhere I look, there’s a Ficklin.” (3) Flossie Malachi died on October 14, 2019, and was buried at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Maryland. (4)
(1) “Flossie F Malachi,” Dignity Memorial, https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/brentwood-md/flossie-f-malachi-8891371; John Wrory Ficklin, An Usual Path: Three Generations from Slavery to the White House (White House Historical Association, 2026).
(2) John Wrory Ficklin, An Usual Path: Three Generations from Slavery to the White House (White House Historical Association, 2026), 48.
(3) “Family,” The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri), February 9, 2016, pg. A8.
(4) “Flossie F Malachi,” Dignity Memorial, https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/brentwood-md/flossie-f-malachi-8891371.
Birthplace
Amissville, Virginia, USA
Related Workers
Samuel L. Ficklin
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1941 – 1991
Charles E. Ficklin
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1939 – 1965
John W. Ficklin
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1939 – 1983, 1978
John Pye
Mary Anderson
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, circa 1945 – 1953