Mary Jane McCaffree Monroe, who as social secretary to Mamie Eisenhower helped organize countless White House functions, then went on to set down the protocols for reception lines, state dinners and more as co-author of a pivotal reference book, died on July 23 in Juno Beach, Fla. She was 106. Her death was announced on Dignity Memorial, an obituary website. Ms. Monroe had served as personal secretary to Mrs. Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential campaign, and when Dwight D. Eisenhower won the election, she went to the White House, a Washington outsider in a job that was the height of insider-ness. She soon wore down whatever skepticism had greeted her, however, so much so that by April 1954 The Boston Globe ran an article on the two women that carried the headline “Mamie and Jane: Capital’s Smoothest Team.”Susan Eisenhower, a granddaughter of Mamie Eisenhower and the author of “Mrs. Ike,” said the two were well matched.

Source: New York Times July 31, 2018 19:48 UTC