JFK60: Patricia Puckett-Hall, Who Knew Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963

Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 22, 2023 - 12:05pm

CHICAGO – Today is the 60th Anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination, November 22nd, 1963. His alleged assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald. On that day in Dallas, Oswald was staying at a boarding house owned by the grandmother of Patricia Puckett-Hall. Hall was 11 years old at the time, and knew “Mr. Lee.”

The boarding house, owned by Gladys Johnson, was located in the Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas, at 1026 North Beckley Avenue. After allegedly shooting the president, Oswald (LHO) took a cab to the house and rushed in past housekeeper Earlene Roberts, and without saying a word – even though Roberts mentioned the shooting – he collected some items, including a pistol. From there he walked ten blocks and allegedly shot police officer J.D. Tippit, and eventually was captured a half mile away at the movie exhibitor the Texas Theatre.

Patricia Puckett-Hall in 1963 & Today (inset) and the Oswald Rooming House Museum
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

Patricia Puckett-Hall was 11 years old on that day, and describes the actions of her mother in the Podtalk below. She and her brothers were very familiar with Mr. Lee, as he would often play games or in general interact with them. Her grandmother Gladys lived in the home and kept taking in boarders until her passing in 1986. Eventually Patricia moved in to care for her mother, who took over the house management until her passing in 2008. After the last boarder moved out in 2010, Hall decided to create the “Oswald Rooming House Museum,” and greets JFK assassination buffs from all over the world, including the interviewer in this article.

Patrick McDonald Sizes Up ‘The Room’ and the LHO Inventory Taken from the House
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

In a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Patricia Puckett-Hall shares her memories and background of the boarding house, which begins the interview …

For more information regarding the Oswald Rooming House Museum, click LHO Facebook. For a CBS-TV interview of housekeeper Earlene Roberts, click here. The interviewer is grateful for hospitality and candor of Patricia Puckett-Hall. John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963.