James Bernard West, known as J. B. (July 27, 1912 – July 18, 1983) was Chief Usher of the White House for 12 years, from 1957 to 1969. His best-selling book, Upstairs at the White House (My Life with the First Ladies) (with Mary Lynn Kotz), documents his time in the executive mansion, starting in 1941 under Chief Usher Howell G. Crim. The book serves as the main source of numerous White House anecdotes, such as President Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

's demands for a multi-head high-pressure shower that required much rework to make powerful enough to satisfy him.

Biography

West was born in Afton, Iowa

Afton, Iowa

Afton is a city in Union County, Iowa, United States. The population was 917 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Afton is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

 on July 27, 1912 to William West and Sarah McVay. He graduated from Creston High School in 1930 and moved to Washington in 1939. He married Zella Snyder and fathered two daughters, Kathy (Mary Kathryn) and Sally.

West began work in the White House as assistant to the chief usher in 1941. Prior to that, he worked in the Veterans Administration

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...

. He was promoted to chief usher when Crim retired in 1957. With a staff of over 100, West managed many state dinners and other White House events, including those surrounding the mourning of John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 and the wedding of Lynda Bird Johnson. West retired from the White House in 1969.

He died on July 18, 1983 at the age of 70.

External links

• Upstairs at the White House (My Life with the First Ladies), 1973, Warner Books, ISBN 044630557X
• Des Moines Register: "Famous Iowans: West, J.B.
• http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/W.html Records of the White House Usher, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library