For those of us of a certain age, the tragic events of November 22, 1963—the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas—are permanently etched in our memories. Many of us remember being let out of school early, then gathering with our families around the television to watch the black-and-white CBS News broadcast, where an uncharacteristically emotional Walter Cronkite confirmed Kennedy’s death. 

Jerry O'Rourke, a former U.S. Secret Service agent, holds his badge from his years protecting presidents at his hom in Grand Junction. Photos by Sarah McCaughey.

 But for Grand Junction resident Jerry O’Rourke, who was on the job that fateful day as a member of Kennedy’s security detail, there was no time to join in the nation’s mourning. 

“I was one of seven [Secret Service] agents assigned to the graveyard shift to protect the president at Hotel Texas in Fort Worth,” O’Rourke recalled. “We were to be relieved at eight o’clock [the morning of the assassination] but were told we needed to stay on duty until Kennedy departed [Dallas] for Austin.” 

While Jerry and his fellow agents were preparing to leave for Austin themselves, they learned the motorcade in Dallas had turned deadly. 

“We were in total disbelief,” said O’Rourke. “And we received no specifics, other than orders to return to Washington, D.C. as quickly as possible.”

After landing in Washington, Air Force airmen drove Jerry to his home so he could change clothes and grab a bite to eat, then follow his next orders: report immediately to Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson’s house in Maryland. 

“We needed to protect Johnson in case someone came after him too,” O’Rourke explained. 

Jerry O'Rourke shares his photos of serving along side each president. 

 THE MAKING OF AN AGENT

O’Rourke, now 91, knew early on that he wanted a career in law enforcement. After graduating from Western State College in Gunnison, now Western Colorado University, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. 

When he decided the Army wasn’t his cup of tea, “My company commander encouraged me to apply for a government job. I wanted to join the Secret Service because it was an opportunity to travel all over the world, but there weren’t any openings at that time.” 

In the interim, O’Rourke taught high school English in Cortez.

When a position finally became available, O’Rourke underwent rigorous training in government security, firearms, tear gas, self-defense, counterfeiting and forgery. 

“In those days, if someone forged a government check, the case was turned over to us and we investigated,” said O’Rourke.

In the early 1960s, when he first joined the Secret Service, there were strict height and weight requirements. 

Secret Service Badge

 “You had to be between five feet eight and six feet two, so you wouldn’t need to look up at the president or look down on him,” he said. “Your weight needed to be appropriate for your height.”

BACK TO WASHINGTON

Following Kennedy’s assassination, O’Rourke’s next assignment was with President Johnson. 

O’Rourke admitted he wasn’t particularly fond of Johnson and didn’t care for the way he treated his family, but O’Rourke and his fellow agents became quite fond of the president’s daughters, Lynda Bird and Luci Baines. 

“We were like surrogate dads for those girls. We’d tell them what to wear and how to act at the various functions they were expected to attend,” he said. “Their mother didn’t have time and their father would never talk to them about those types of things.”

A signed photo of President Ronald Reagan is among the memorabilia displayed in O'Rourke's home office

 During the Johnson administration, O’Rourke had a memorable encounter with then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in a White House elevator. At the time, Secret Service agents were allowed to wear blue or white shirts under their suits, while FBI agents could only wear white. That day, O’Rourke wore a blue shirt.

“I noticed Hoover looking me up and down and his associate director, Clyde Tolson, shaking his head ‘no,’” O’Rourke said. “After exiting the elevator, we all headed to President Johnson’s office. They entered, and I stood guard outside the door. After a few moments, Tolson came out and told me Hoover had asked him to fire me for wearing the wrong color shirt. I told him Hoover had no authority to fire me. We both had a good laugh over it.”

LIFE ON THE DETAIL

While many people think the life of a Secret Service agent is glamorous, O’Rourke said his work schedule was particularly grueling. 

A photo shows president Lyndon B. Johnson with O'Rourke standing guard in the background.

 “Most don’t remain with the Service more than 20 years because of the travel [demands],” he said. “I visited 42 different countries during my career, and I always had to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.” 

During Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign, O’Rourke was on the road with the candidate for nearly a year straight, visiting some 300 different cities. 

“Being in the Secret Service takes a huge toll on families, and the divorce rate among agents is very high,” he said. “My late wife, Dawna, stayed with me the entire time I served.”

Of all the presidents he protected, O’Rourke’s favorite was Ronald Reagan. 

“He spent a lot of time with us agents, and we loved him,” he said. “We all smoked back then, and he’d come into the White House breakroom and sit with us. He told jokes that would make us laugh so hard.” 

 O’Rourke said he and his fellow agents thought so highly of Reagan they’d do just about anything to make his life easier. 

But if a president was difficult to get along with, he added, “you would do your job, but you wouldn’t go overboard for him.”

Jerry O'Rourke and his wife, Marie Wohlfahrt.

 COMING HOME

The walls of Jerry’s home office are adorned with memorabilia amassed over his more than two decades with the Secret Service: signed photos of the Kennedys, Johnson and the Reagans, along with a personalized plaque commemorating that yearlong Nixon campaign tour.

But after 21 years, at age 48, O’Rourke left the Secret Service. He spent five years conducting law enforcement training for the State of Wyoming, then returned to Telluride, where he led Jeep tours and fly-fishing expeditions. In 1992, he relocated to Grand Junction, where he volunteers with the police department, Meals on Wheels and Grand Junction Visitors Center. 

Reflecting on his tenure with the Secret Service, O’Rourke said if given the choice, he likely wouldn’t do it again due to the strain it placed on his family. 

“But I have some fine memories of the people I met and the many places I visited,” he said.