In Memoriam – October 2020
We honor and remember the members of the Peace Corps community who recently passed away. They worked in law enforcement and health care. They volunteered in efforts to confront homelessness, racial injustice, domestic violence, and animal welfare. And, in one case, they developed a university study abroad program that included one particularly well known and influential alumnus. Joseph Blatchford (1934-2020) served as the third director of the Peace Corps. Blatchford was appointed by President Richard Nixon in May 1969 — and he headed the agency during the turbulent times of Nixon’s first administration. Tapped for the post at 34 years old, he came with nearly a decade’s...
Sorrow and Gratitude: Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg
She was committed to justice and equality. And a Peace Corps Volunteer helped the world see her in a new way. By Steven Boyd Saum Photo of Ruth Ginsburg by Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States “Ruth obviously changed the country, but she did it by convincing people to agree with her, instead of destroying the people who disagreed with her.” Those words were spoken two years ago by Daniel Stiepleman — nephew of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who died yesterday at age 87. Stiepleman helped the...
In Memoriam – September 2020
We honor members of the Peace Corps community whom we have recently lost. Whether in local office, the judiciary, the military, or through civic engagement, members of the Peace Corps community are committed to — in the words of founder Sargent Shriver — “Serve, Serve, Serve!” We recognize and honor the contributions of many of these public servants whom we lost in the recent past. John Early (1946 – 2020) was a member of the 70th group of Peace Corps Volunteers to serve in India, joining in 1968 after his graduation from Cornell University, and serving until 1972, beyond the standard two years. His family ties to...
In Memoriam – August 2020
We mourn the recent deaths of a number of amazing leaders of our Peace Corps community. Whether working around the world, in local cities and towns, or within the network of those who served in the Peace Corps, RPCVs and former staff are leaders. Walter C. Carrington (1930 – 2020) was an early Country Director, serving Peace Corps in that position in Tunisia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone between 1961 and 1969. He would then serve as Peace Corps' Regional Director for Africa from 1969-71. But that was just one component of his very illustrious career. He graduated from Harvard College (in...
Groundbreaking Work: Richard Paul Thornell in memoriam
By Jonathan Pearson and Steven Boyd Saum Richard Paul Thornell was only 24 years old when Sargent Shriver and Harris Wofford sent him to Ghana as director of the Peace Corps Africa Regional Office. “For him, it was a lifelong sense of pride,” his son Paul Thornell told the Washington Post. “The Peace Corps is the thing that has lasted, in a meaningful way, longer than other things, and the fact that my dad had a central role in launching it, that meant a lot to him.” Yet that was only one of the groundbreaking roles Richard Paul Thornell played. A graduate...
One Idea a Minute: A Remembrance of Bill Haddad
He shaped the beginnings of the Peace Corps — and so much more. By William Josephson William F. (Bill) Haddad died on April 30. He was 91. He was the subject of long obituaries in both the Washington Post and New York Times. Bill was an extremely important early Peace Corps person. He created the inspector general position long before inspector generals became ubiquitous in every federal and many state agencies. Bill’s work gave birth to Charlie Peters and his unique Peace Corps evaluation office. Instead of “bean counters,” it employed journalists and lawyers to write down-to-earth evaluations of how well or...
Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean: In Memoriam
By Steven Boyd Saum She was a mother and wife and human rights attorney. She was granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy and daughter of David Lee Townsend and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland. She was a woman of boundless energy and an avid advocate for social justice and human rights, with a focus on issues relating to women, girls, and communities affected by HIV/AIDS. Her passion to make a difference in the lives of others greatly shaped the remarkable career she established for herself. She served in the Peace Corps in Mozambique, worked with U.S. Senator...
In Memoriam — July 2020: Honoring Those Who Served
Service comes in many forms. Among those members of our community who recently passed away, we honor those who served our nation not only through Peace Corps, but also in the military, in other federal agencies, through civic organizations, and as leaders of National Peace Corps Association affiliate groups. Ross Joseph Pritchard (1924 – 2020) joined the Navy at age 17 to fight in World War II. After the war, he enrolled at the University of Arkansas where he played football, ran track, and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science and history. Though he was drafted to play professional...
In Memoriam – June 2020
Among those members of our community who recently passed away, we honor those who excelled in government, politics, education, agriculture, and public and community service. Mary Ziegenhagen (1936-2020) was born in Illinois, moved to Minnesota, and received training as an accredited medical records technician. Then moved to Washington, D.C. in 1960 to work on the staff of Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy. In 1962, she joined the first Peace Corps staff in the Philippines as an assistant to the director. Mary returned to Washington to work as an assistant for another Minnesotan, Hubert Humphrey, when he served as vice president under Lyndon Johnson. In...
In Memoriam — May 2020
Members of the Peace Corps community who recently passed away include key leaders who were there at the beginning of the agency, and a National Football League executive who helped lead his team to its one and only Super Bowl championship. William Haddad (1928-2020) was a well-known public figure prior to joining Peace Corps at its inception. After serving in the Merchant Marines during World War II and attending Columbia University, Haddad joined the staff of Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver, and helped secure his nomination for vice president in 1956 on a Democratic ticket led by Adlai Stevenson. In 1957, Haddad was hired...