White House Historical Association

James K. Dyson Sr.

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"James K. Dyson Sr. ," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whitehouseworkers.org/Detail/workers/1453.
Position
Electrician
Years in President's House
circa 1970 – 1992
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidencies
Richard M. Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Biography

James Kenneth Dyson Sr. was born on February 6, 1918 in Pierson, Maryland.1 In 1940, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and subsequently fought in World War II; Dyson was wounded in action in France in 1944 and earned a Purple Heart for his service.2

After the war, Dyson worked as an electrician.3 As early as 1970, he was employed in the Electric Shop at the White House. That year, he assisted First Lady Pat Nixon with her efforts to light the exterior of the White House for the first time, installing 500- and 1500-watt tungsten halogen lights to light the North and South facades.4

Dyson retired from the White House in 1992.5 He passed away on February 17, 2004, and was buried at Southern Memorial Gardens in Dunkirk, Maryland.6 

  1. “James K. Dyson Sr.,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/279805281/james-k-dyson; James Kenneth Dyson, U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards For Maryland, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 144, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238/records/5976624?tid=173602160&pid=402278020816&ssrc=pt. 
  2. Young American Patriots (Richmond, VA: National Publishing Co., 1945), 293. 
  3. James K Dyson, 1950 United States Federal Census, National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Mount Rainier, Prince George's, Maryland; Roll: 2854; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 17-142, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308/records/60261885. 
  4. “Reception-Friday, December 13, 1974 at 4:00 p.m.,” folder: “12/13/74 - Residence Staff Christmas Party,” box 2, Betty Ford White House Papers, Gerald R. Ford Library, https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0018/4515686.pdf; “Pat Nixon on Her Own Home Ground,” LIFE, August 25, 1972, pg. 29. 
  5. “James K. Dyson Jr.,” Legacy, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/fredericknewspost/name/james-dyson-obituary?id=34153865. 
  6. “James Kenneth Dyson Sr.,”  Legacy, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/james-dyson-obituary?id=5501215. 
Birthplace
Maryland, USA
Burial Place
Southern Memorial Gardens
Blue markers indicate birthplaces and green markers indicate burial places. Black markers are used for places of both birth and burial.