William F. Ruback Sr.

William Francis “Bill” Ruback Sr. was born on July 25, 1933, in Coaldale, Pennsylvania.¹ He served in the Korean War and later earned his degree in floriculture from the University of Maryland.² 

In 1961, Ruback joined the National Park Service (NPS) as an assistant horticulturalist on the White House Grounds.³ The following year, he helped Rachel “Bunny” Mellon with the Kennedy-era redesign of the Rose Garden, conducting an archaeological dig as the garden was uprooted. Mellon recalled: “The garden area was filled with rubble and relics and yielded many curiosities, such as Civil War horseshoes and bits of pots from the old greenhouses.”⁴ 

Ruback remained assigned to the White House Grounds until 1980. During his time there, Ruback’s duties at the White House included planting and nurturing all of the trees, flowers, and shrubbery onsite, answering visitor questions during annual Spring and Fall Garden Tours, and finding creative ways to keep squirrels and other pests away from greenery on the lawn.⁵ He selected the National Christmas Tree each winter, playing such an important role in White House holiday celebrations that the Washington Post called him “Uncle Sam’s chief Christmas man.”⁶ During his tenure, Ruback also established the White House Visitor Program, which introduced informational brochures, improved interpretation for visitors, and launched a revised public tour program.⁷ 

In 1980, Bill Ruback was promoted to superintendent of the National Capital Region. In his new position, he oversaw the President’s Park and White House Grounds as well as the entire National Mall, Ford’s Theatre, and other National Park Service sites in the D.C. area.⁸ He retired from NPS in 1989 and moved to Bethany Beach, Delaware.8 Ruback died on July 30, 2014.⁹