Richard W. Coherd

Richard William “Rick” Coherd was born on February 18, 1951 in Bethesda, Maryland.¹ He began working at the White House in 1971 as a maintenance employee in the Plumbing Shop, having been encouraged to apply by a neighbor who worked on the team. Rick often took his lunch break in the flower room where he observed the florists at work; he worked overtime with the florists during major events like State Dinners. In his words: “Their technique finally rubbed off and I was able to qualify for a [full-time florist] position two years later.”² 

It was no small job. Chief Floral Designer Elmer “Rusty” Young estimated that on an average day during the Carter years, Coherd and his teammates created approximately sixty-two arrangements for use around the White House and at regular events, and more for special occasions like State Dinners or weddings.³ Coherd worked the earliest shift on the flower shop team, arriving at 5:30 a.m. to remove old flowers from the previous evenings’ event and placing new arrangements for the first family each morning.⁴ 

Coherd remained on staff until 1979.⁵ Afterward, he worked as an HVAC technician at Montgomery County School District. A lover of history, Coherd was also a ranger at Little Bennett Regional Park in Maryland, a volunteer interpreter at Fort Delaware, and the founder of Delmarva Historic Haunts, a paranormal investigation group.⁶ Some of his interest in the paranormal came from working at the White House. There, he claimed that he and his colleagues experienced supernatural happenings, and told the Cape Gazette: “The maids and butlers told me their stories…That kind of fed me for awhile.”⁷ Coherd’s work was even featured on an episode of Ghost Hunters.⁸ Rick Coherd passed away on June 15, 2015.⁹