White House Historical Association

Richard J. Hurdle

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"Richard J. Hurdle," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/976.
Position
Painter
Years in President's House
circa 1942 – 1944
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidency
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Biography
Richard Joshua Hurdle was born in Washington, D.C. on September 29, 1894. (1) He held various painting and decorator roles in the capital and in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. (2) By 1942, Hurdle was a painter at the White House on detail from the Federal Works Agency, which supervised several New Deal public works agencies including the Public Buildings Administration and Work Projects Administration. (3) Hurdle worked at the White House through at least 1944, but further information about his tenure on staff is scarce. (4) By 1950, he was a painter at the State Department. (5) After retirement, Hurdle relocated to Miami, Florida. He passed away on May 20, 1968, and was buried at Dade Memorial Park in Opa-locka, Florida, (6)
(1) Richard Joshua Hurdle in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the District of Columbia; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 034, Ancestry.com; Richard Joshua Hurdle in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
(2) Richard Joshua Hurdle in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005; Richard J Hurdle in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Bethesda, Montgomery, Maryland; Page: 62A; Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 2340612, Ancestry.com.
(3) Richard Joshua Hurdle in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the District of Columbia; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; “Federal Works Agency,” Living New Deal, https://livingnewdeal.org/glossary/federal-works-agency-fwa-1939/.
(4) "Roster of White House Employees, Revised, April 1, 1944," Folder: Investigative Case Files, 1934-1945, Records of the United States Secret Service, 1933-1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York; "Christmas List for December 25, 1943 for the Men and & Wife & Children Up to 14 Years of Age," 1943, Folder: Christmas Lists; Topical File, 1933-1945, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Part 1, 1884-1964, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.
(5) Richard J Hurdle 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: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 502; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 1-652, Ancestry.com.
(6) “Hurdle,” The Miami News (Miami, Florida), May 22, 1968, pg. 32.
Birthplace
Washington, D.C., USA