Providencia Paredes
Encyclopedia
Providencia Paredes was the personal assistant to the First Lady of the United States
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
. A native of San Pedro de Macoris
, Dominican Republic
, Parades arrived in the United States in 1948 with Francisco Thomen, Ambassador to the United States from the Dominican Republic. At the conclusion of the Ambassador’s term in Washington, D.C.
, she returned to the Dominican Republic and was reunited with her first child, Hector, who was born in 1945. Several years later, Provi (as she is known to friends) returned to the United States
, where she remarried Gustavo G. Paredes, a former member of the Colombia
n navy
and merchant marines. and gave birth to her second child, Gustavo, in 1954.
In 1957, Senator John F. Kennedy
’s personal secretary, Evelyn Lincoln
, introduced Mrs. Paredes to Senator Kennedy. After meeting Mrs. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Provi began working for the Kennedys in their Georgetown
home. Upon Senator John F. Kennedy’s election as President, Mrs. Paredes became a U.S. citizen and accompanied the Kennedys to the White House
and was employed as Mrs. Kennedy’s private attendant. Her role was noteworthy in that she was the only staff member of Hispanic
descent in the Kennedy administration's inner circle. Chief among her duties was the care and oversight of the First Lady’s extensive wardrobe and personal accessories.
During the Kennedy White House years, Mrs. Paredes traveled widely with both the President and Mrs. Kennedy. She accompanied President Kennedy on trips and official state visits to Puerto Rico
, Venezuela
, Colombia
, France
, Mexico
, and England
, and was a companion to the First Lady on trips to Mexico, India
, Pakistan
, Italy
, Greece
, Cambodia
, Thailand
, Turkey
and Switzerland
. While many trips were official business, others were recreational.
After President Kennedy’s assassination, Mrs. Paredes worked for Robert F. Kennedy
until his untimely death, and for Senator Edward M. Kennedy briefly. In 1969 she assumed a position in the United States Postal Service
Library Division from which she retired in 1992 after thirty one years of public service. After her death in May 1994, Mrs. Onassis remembered Ms. Paredes in her final will, leaving her a total of US$50,000 in gratitude for her assistance and friendship. Ms. Paredes and her son, Gustavo, who was a good friend of Ms. Onassis's son, John F. Kennedy, Jr.
attended her burial at Arlington National Cemetery
on May 24, 1994.
To this day, Mrs. Paredes and her family maintain a close relationship with many members of the Kennedy family.
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
. A native of San Pedro de Macoris
San Pedro de Macorís
San Pedro de Macorís is a municipality and the capital of the San Pedro de Macorís province in the Dominican Republic.-Demographics:...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Parades arrived in the United States in 1948 with Francisco Thomen, Ambassador to the United States from the Dominican Republic. At the conclusion of the Ambassador’s term in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, she returned to the Dominican Republic and was reunited with her first child, Hector, who was born in 1945. Several years later, Provi (as she is known to friends) returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where she remarried Gustavo G. Paredes, a former member of the Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n navy
Colombian National Armada
The Colombian Navy , also known as the "Armada Nacional" or just the "Armada" in Spanish, is the naval branch of the military forces of Colombia....
and merchant marines. and gave birth to her second child, Gustavo, in 1954.
In 1957, Senator John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
’s personal secretary, Evelyn Lincoln
Evelyn Lincoln
Evelyn Maurine Norton Lincoln was the personal secretary to John F. Kennedy from his election to the United States Senate in 1953 until his 1963 assassination in Dallas. Mrs...
, introduced Mrs. Paredes to Senator Kennedy. After meeting Mrs. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Provi began working for the Kennedys in their Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
home. Upon Senator John F. Kennedy’s election as President, Mrs. Paredes became a U.S. citizen and accompanied the Kennedys to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and was employed as Mrs. Kennedy’s private attendant. Her role was noteworthy in that she was the only staff member of Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
descent in the Kennedy administration's inner circle. Chief among her duties was the care and oversight of the First Lady’s extensive wardrobe and personal accessories.
During the Kennedy White House years, Mrs. Paredes traveled widely with both the President and Mrs. Kennedy. She accompanied President Kennedy on trips and official state visits to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and was a companion to the First Lady on trips to Mexico, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. While many trips were official business, others were recreational.
After President Kennedy’s assassination, Mrs. Paredes worked for Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
until his untimely death, and for Senator Edward M. Kennedy briefly. In 1969 she assumed a position in the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
Library Division from which she retired in 1992 after thirty one years of public service. After her death in May 1994, Mrs. Onassis remembered Ms. Paredes in her final will, leaving her a total of US$50,000 in gratitude for her assistance and friendship. Ms. Paredes and her son, Gustavo, who was a good friend of Ms. Onassis's son, John F. Kennedy, Jr.
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. , often referred to as John F. Kennedy, Jr., JFK Jr., John Jr. or John-John, was an American socialite, magazine publisher, lawyer, and pilot. The elder son of U.S. President John F...
attended her burial at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
on May 24, 1994.
To this day, Mrs. Paredes and her family maintain a close relationship with many members of the Kennedy family.