Charles Kenneth Claunch, Sr. (October 7, 1899November 9, 1978) was an usher for the White House who was appointed as Government Secretary to the United States Virgin Islands and was briefly acting-Governor in 1955 after a scandal.His Florida death certificate lists his birth as October 7, 1898 and the Social Security Death Index lists it as October 7, 1899. The SSDI is always considered more accurate since he would have to have submitted a birth certificate when he applied for Social Security.
Biography Claunch was born in Chicago, Illinois, and joined the United States Navy in 1918 where he was assigned to the White House as an assistant to a naval aide. In 1938, with a rank of chief petty officer, he resigned from the Navy to accept a position as an usher in the White House. In 1943, his wife committed suicide.
He was appointed Government Secretary, a position in the territorial government equivalent to Lieutenant Governor of a state, on March 25, 1954. After a scandal and the resignation of Governor Archie Alexander, Claunch was made acting-Governor from August 17 to October 31, 1955. He was reportedly offered the position of full Governor, but declined. The Washington Post reported that he was the only white man to have served under Alexander's government. He resigned in 1957. He died on November 9, 1978, in Ormond Beach, Florida.
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Further reading The Washington Post; April 5, 1938; White House Changes. The Washington Post; Jan 10, 1943; City News In Brief. The New York Times; August 19, 1955; Island Choice Weighed.
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