Dr. Harold "Hal" H. Saunders (Dec 27, 1930 - Mar 6, 2016) - Assistant Secretary of State in the Carter Administration

[Dr. Delicious]

Official Obits:

New York Times: "Harold H. Saunders, Mideast Peace Broker, Dies at 85" by Sam Roberts
Washington Post: "Harold H. Saunders, diplomat in Camp David Accords, Iranian hostage crisis, dies"  by Matt Schudel
Kettering Foundation: "Dr. Harold H. Saunders: 1930-2016"

Before Hal's passing, we had time to prepare a book in which people would share their reflections on working with him. Here's what I wrote, which given space limitations, only scratches the surface of my gratitude.

Hal,

It's been almost 20 years since a young and clueless kid walked through the front doors of the Kettering Foundation, but as luck would have it, you were there (with Jim) to help guide me. Indeed, what an unexpected pleasure it has been to have a man of your experience, stature, and understanding there to mentor and mold me into the adult and professional that I am today. The passion you have for your work, and your tireless work ethic have been a sight to behold, and if I am demonstrating any of these qualities in my own work, it can be directly attributed to your excellent example. Mostly, though, I appreciate and will miss our simple, easy, and quiet moments together over a cup of coffee in the hallway, hearing your thoughts or sharing my own. I'll miss your wonderful stories from your days in government, always wondering what incredible thing I'll hear next. I would also be remiss if I didn't specifically thank you for your support throughout all of my academic pursuits. You have been championing me from the beginning, and I am truly grateful for that.

It's been quite a journey, and I'm honored to have shared it with you.

Love,
Phil Lurie

[DonRocks]

[I'm going to delete this post in a day-or-so, but I stumbled upon this tribute all because I was checking the effectiveness of this forum, and I performed a Google search on "Dr. Harold Saunders" - this is what I found:

Because Phil took the time to write this, I saw the Google results, looked at the New York Times obituary, and there is now at least one additional person who knows about Hal Saunders - and once you know about him, you won't forget about him.

Thanks for writing this thoughtful and moving tribute. I promise you that this forum will remain here, and that I will never charge anyone anything to write here, or to read what is written.]