Powers served as Museum Curator of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum from until his retirement in May Powers was also a close friend of Kennedy. The son of Irish immigrants, Powers was born and raised in the Charlestown section of Boston.
Catherine of Sienna Church in Charlestown. Although Powers was initially skeptical at how "a millionaire's son from Harvard" could appeal to the working-class voters in the district, he joined Kennedy's campaign after being impressed by a heartfelt speech Kennedy gave to Gold Star mothers who had lost sons in World War II. In this role Powers watched "over the President's needs, and was always with him on trips around the country and abroad.
He usually was the first to see the President in the morning, and the last to see him at night. He was less a political adviser than simply a friend with whom Kennedy could relax. They would swim together in the White House pool, where Powers would use a breaststroke in order to keep up a steady chatter of amusing conversation that Kennedy enjoyed. During the assassination of President John F. Kennedy , Powers and Kenneth O'Donnell , another Kennedy aide, were riding in the Secret Service follow-up car directly behind the presidential limousine.
In , the Assassination Records Review Board released three minutes of film footage captured by Powers in Dallas prior to the assassination. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. At the request of Robert F. Kennedy , Powers spent the years from to helping federal archivists gather and organize Kennedy memorabilia, papers, and other artifacts for the planned museum.
When the Kennedy Library and Museum opened in Boston in , Powers served as a curator at the museum until his retirement in Reflecting on his time with Kennedy, Powers stated that Kennedy was "the greatest man I ever met, and the best friend I ever had.
