Deceased November 29, 2014
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50th Reunion Book Entry
In Memory
Leonard C. Meeker, one of the few remaining members of the class of 1937, died on Nov. 29, 2014, at his home on Ocracoke Island, N.C.
Though his final years were quiet, peaceful and punctuated by frequent visitors, our father led a truly remarkable life—one that found him behind Communist lines in China during World War II; working in the solicitor general’s office after the war; serving in the State Department (where he helped Secretary of State Rusk and President Kennedy defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis); becoming legal adviser under President Johnson; serving as ambassador to Romania during the Cold War; and, following government service, pursuing international environmental issues at the Center for Law and Social Policy until his retirement at age 65.
Our father attended Deerfield Academy before Amherst and later graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was on the Law Review’s board of editors. Like many of his generation, he chose a life of public service. He was particularly influenced by two Amherst professors, Lawrence Packard and Theodore Baird, and remained passionate about the College. His continuing connection with Amherst included a longtime friendship with Armour Craig ’37, who went on to become an Amherst professor and interim president. His final acts in public life were on the Board of the Union of Concerned Scientists in Boston and in town governance on Ocracoke. He also served as unofficial chief for our brother Charles in numerous successful political campaigns in Raleigh, N.C. Amherst awarded our father an honorary degree in 1967.
His first wife died of cancer in 1958. He married Beverly in 1969. She survives him. All six children are, fortunately, still alive: the three of us and Charles, James and Eliza. There are nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Ben Meeker ’98
Sarah Meeker Jensen ’77
Richard H. Meeker ’70