White House Historical Association

Melvin R. Pearson

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"Melvin R. Pearson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whitehouseworkers.org/Detail/workers/1199.
Position
Engineer
Years in President's House
circa 1967 – 1997
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidencies
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard M. Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Biography
Melvin Russell Pearson, better known as Mickey, was born on July 15, 1937, in Richmond, Virginia.1 Around 1967, Pearson joined the White House staff. He worked as an operating engineer, maintaining White House HVAC, plumbing, and refrigeration systems.2 Pearson retired from the White House in 1997 after thirty years of service under seven presidents.3 Melvin Pearson died on June 13, 2025.4
  1. “Birthdays,” Undated, folder: folder “Birthdays (Residence Staff),” box 29, Betty Ford White House Papers, Gerald R. Ford Library, https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0018/81556614.pdf; “Mickey Pearson,” Legacy, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/fredericknewspost/name/mickey-pearson-obituary?id=58643506. 
  2. Ibid. 
  3. “Mickey Pearson,” Legacy, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/fredericknewspost/name/mickey-pearson-obituary?id=58643506. 
  4. Ibid. 
Birthplace
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Blue markers indicate birthplaces and green markers indicate burial places. Black markers are used for places of both birth and burial.