Leroy Lyons
Cite this Page
"Leroy Lyons," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/943.
- Position
- Gardener
- Years in President's House
- circa 1934 – 1961
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Leroy Lyons was born on December 25, 1903, in Alexandria, Virginia. (1) Around 1934, he joined the White House staff, working as a gardener and laborer on the grounds. (2) Some of his duties included raking leaves, mowing the lawn, feeding the White House squirrels, and cleaning up after them each day. (3) Lyons worked there through at least 1961; that year, he appeared on First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s annual staff Christmas list with other bouquet room staff; this team was responsible for White House floral arrangements. (4) Information about his retirement is limited, but we know that Lyons passed away June 24, 1985, and was buried at Ivy Hill Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia. (5)
- (1) Leroy Lyons in the U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Virginia, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 464, Ancestry.com.
(2) A 1955 newspaper article mentions that Lyons began at the White House 21 years earlier, suggesting a 1934 start date. See “President Gives White House Employes One of His Paintings,” News and Record (North Carolina), December 23, 1955, pg. 1; See also Leroy L Lyons in the 1950 United States Federal Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Alexandria, Alexandria, Virginia; Roll: 844; Page: 5; Enumeration District: 101-14, Ancestry.com; 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.
(3) “Power Sweeper Now Follows White House Squirrels, Tourists,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), September 28, 1948, pg. 21; “And the Green Grass Grew All Around,” The Daily Reporter (New York), March 15, 1939, pg. 13.
(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.
(5) “Leroy Joseph Lyons,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24427064/leroy-joseph-lyons; Leroy J Lyons in the Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, Virginia Department of Health; Richmond, VA, USA; Virginia, Deaths, 1912-2014, Ancestry.com. - Birthplace
- Alexandria, Virginia, USA
- Related Worker
- John SmithGardens, Grounds, and Flower Shop, circa 1939