Rose Mary Woods (December 26, 1917 – January 22, 2005) was Richard Nixon's secretary. When Nixon, then a young California Senator, needed a secretary, he had an agency send one over; it was Woods. The two clicked, and from 1951 through the Watergate scandal and until the end of his political career, Woods served as Nixon's secretary. Before H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman became the operators of the presidential campaign, Miss Woods was Nixon's gatekeeper. It has been said she controlled who could see her boss. If one were on her good side, the door was opened, but if one were held to be of questionable loyalty, meetings just would not happen..