On behalf of the Nixon family, the Richard Nixon Foundation expresses its deepest sympathy to the family, friends, and colleagues of Lucy Winchester Breathitt, who passed away on September 4, 2025.
Lucy served as White House Social Secretary from 1969 to 1974. Working very closely with First Lady Pat Nixon, she managed the planning and execution of 76 state dinners along with countless other parties, receptions, and special events. She also trained the first women to serve as Social Aides, volunteer military officers who assist at various White House events.
Among the highlights of her service as Social Secretary were the August 13, 1969 dinner held in Los Angeles for more than 1,400 guests honoring the Apollo 11 astronauts; the June 12, 1971 White House Rose Garden wedding of Tricia Nixon and Edward F. Cox; and, the May 24, 1973 dinner saluting the returned Vietnam POWs – which is still the largest dinner ever held at the White House.
Early in her tenure at the White House, Lucy described her job working with Mrs. Nixon: “It’s a 12-hour day, seven days a week position, but I love it….Mrs. Nixon is wonderful to work for. She is patient and has a delightful sense of humor.”
After leaving the White House, Lucy served as an Assistant Chief of Protocol at the State Department before returning to her beloved family farm in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1988 she married former Kentucky governor, Ned Breathitt.
Lucy will be long remembered by all who knew and admired her for her exquisite taste, her unsurpassed organizational ability, her diplomatic skills, and her great sense of humor.
Click here to see a video Lucy recorded for Mrs. Nixon’s 2012 centennial exhibit at the Nixon Library.
June 17, 1971. President Nixon meeting with Lucy Winchester in the Oval Office.
