Dorothy Dow Butturff was born on March 1, 1904 in La Crosse, Wis. She attended the La Crosse State Normal School, graduating in 1922. From 1923 to 1928, Mrs. Butturff taught in the Wauwatosa and Ashland, Wis., public school systems. The following year, she took business courses at the La Crosse Vocational School. Mrs. Butturff began her government career in 1930 with her appointment as a secretary in the Dept. of the Interior. She was transferred to the White House Social Bureau following President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inauguration in 1933 and remained until 1957. From 1933 to 1945, she was assistant to Eleanor Roosevelt's personal secretary, Malvina Thompson Scheider, dividing her time between the White House and the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park, N.Y. During her White House years of "life on a merry-go-round in an elevator with the Roosevelts," Mrs Butturff wrote many fascinating letters to her family detailing her varied experiences as a White House staff member. In 1984, these letters were edited by Ruth K. McClure and published as Eleanor Roosevelt, an eager spirit: the letters of Dorothy Dow, 1933-1945. In 1946 she transferred to the correspondence section of the Executive Office of the President, moving soon thereafter to the Office of Presidential Appointments, where she remained until her retirement in 1957. Dorothy Dow married Robert R. Butturff on Oct. 20, 1934. He died on Feb. 15, 1976. Mrs. Butturff resides in Silver Spring, Md. She has one daughter, Barbara Butturff Delaney.
From the description of The Dorothy Dow Butturff papers, 1933-1985. (Georgetown University). WorldCat record id: 123232682
