Former Rhode Island Senator Claiborne deB. Pell has died at the age of 90.
He was a gracious, well-mannered, hard working public servant, and a dear soul. Quirky as all get-out, he was true to himself.
He was beloved on Capitol Hill, and in Rhode Island.
I first met Senator Pell when I was breaking into the radio news biz in 1970, stringing on Capitol Hill for a chain of radio stations. One was in Providence, so the Rhode Island delegation was part of my beat.
There was the fiery Freddy St. Germain and Senator John Pastore, a couple of New England pols. And then there was Claiborne.
The first time I went to his office with my SONY TC-100 tape recorder to interview him, I was invited for tea. It was late in the afternoon, and the Senator brought in several staff members - including his chief of staff (I believe his name was Ray Nelson). Another reporter was present, and we spent half an hour engaging in civilized conversation. Someone asked about travel plans, and Pell noted he and his wife would be going up to "the Fort."
It later was brought to my attention that the Pells - long before historic preservation became a popular cause - had been involved in the purchase and preservation of Revolutionary War sites. I believe Fort Washington and Fort Ticonderoga were among them.
At a subsequent interview session, the subject was a conversation that Pell was reported to have had with then-President Nixon about the Vietnam War. Pell was a passionate dove.
"It has been reported that you somewhat upbraided the President about the war when you spoke with him at the White House," said my colleague and friend from the Susquehanna Broadcasting Company.
Pell's response still rings - with joy - in my ears nearly 40 years later.
"Good heavens no," he said. "I would certainly NEVER upbraid the President, and MOST certainly not in his own house."
Vintage Claiborne.
He is fittingly remembered as a champion of education, and the Pell Grant program ensures his name will live on. He was an early environmentalist, asking the first questions about weather modification and environmental destruction in Vietnam. He was THE first Senator to warn of the threat to the world's oceans and seas.
He was an early supporter of gay rights. I'll not forget the afternoon he put a human face on the issue in opposing some nefarious Helms amendment. "My daughter Julia, of whom I am most proud," he said on the floor of the Senate, "is head of the lesbians in Rhode Island!" We chuckled and cringed at the way it came out, but Claiborne made his point. Real families and real lives were at stake, and he was proud of his gay daughter.
Claiborne Pell had the bluest of blue blood. And a sense of noblesse oblige. And impeccable manners and decency.
I can't think of the man without smiling, and without a warm feeling. His was a life exceptionally well-lived, and we are all better for his having passed this way.
RIP, Claiborne Pell.