During a May 6 panel discussion at the Currier Museum of Art hosted by New Hampshire Civics, retired Union Leader publisher Joseph McQuaid illustrated civics in action by reading from the obituary of John Swope, which had run in the paper that day.
Swope, and two other New Hampshire citizens who have died in the last month, exemplified what NH Civics aims to instill in today’s youth by advocating for civics education in public schools.
Swope, after an enriched childhood in a wealthy enclave north of New York City, attended elite schools and graduated from Yale with a law degree. He joined an insurance company in New Hampshire, rose through the ranks and became president of Chubb in Concord, retiring some years ago.
It is not in his employment success that he practiced civic involvement, but certainly his civic involvement helped him and his company. Swope demonstrated a side of civics that often is overlooked, namely involvement in nonprofit organizations.
Swope was a key participant in formation of the Capitol Center for the Arts, was actively involved in NHPR and NHPBS, served as interim head of public broadcasting in Washington, D.C., was prominent in philanthropic and environmental causes, and donated a large tract of land in Concord for outdoor recreation. He served on many boards, providing wise counsel to them all, with a warm smile and sense of humor. He was a friend, and a good one.
Justice David H. Souter — Concord High, Harvard, lawyer, assistant attorney general, deputy attorney general under Warren Rudman, attorney general, superior court judge, NH Supreme Court justice, First Circuit judge and Supreme Court Justice — died in early May.
Those of us lucky enough to have known David will remember him as humble, brilliant, thoughtful, funny and private. He was a student of the law and a true conservative, confusing those in politics who think a conservative Supreme Court justice should upend precedent in the name of ideology, instead of caring for precedent and the rule of predictable law. He treasured the law and rightly decided cases, understanding our system and how it should be balanced.
Souter largely was responsible for raising civics as an issue in New Hampshire, at the urging of his friend Sandra Day O’Connor and made rare public appearances in furtherance of the cause. He even endured many seemingly endless meetings trying to plan for civics education in the schools of his native state, often expressing frustration at the nature of committee meetings (under his breath to me often sitting next to him).
“An ignorant people can never remain a free people,” he said, according to a New York Times article published after his death. “Democracy cannot survive too much ignorance. Not understanding how power is allocated among the three branches of government leaves a void that invites a strongman.”
In a crisis, he said, “one person will come forward and say, ‘Give me total power, and I will solve this problem.’” That was four years before Donald J. Trump said in his first acceptance speech, “I alone can fix it.”
Thank you, Justice Souter. On the same day that John Swope died in Concord, Raymond Truncellito died in Manchester. Ray, as he was known to his many friends and insurance clients, was an intelligent man with many interests. Like Swope, he exemplified the educated, involved citizen civics education seeks to encourage.
Born in New Jersey, Swope graduated from high school at 16, went to Dartmouth to play football and graduated early, went to Columbia, returned to Dartmouth as an assistant coach, met a lovely woman from Manchester, married, and moved to his adopted hometown to join a life insurance company.
Ray and Barbara raised five children, engaged in church and community activities, and succeeded in business. Ray was actively involved in the Boys & Girls Club, chaired the Easterseals New Hampshire board, chaired the New Hampshire College (now SNHU) board and remained a trustee emeritus to the end of his life, was active in his Catholic parish and sang in the choir, and was named Manchester’s Citizen of the Year.
Truncellito, 96, impressed all who encountered him with his intellectual strength and curiosity, his love of foreign languages, his interest in the backgrounds of all he met, and his fantastic ability to remember every play of every important football game he ever played (or saw).
All three of these men are examples of what gaining knowledge about government and community, and then taking that knowledge and acting on it, can do to preserve and improve the community and society.
Let us be sure to pass it on.
Brad Cook is a Manchester attorney. The views expressed in this column are his own. He can be reached at bradfordcook01@gmail.com.
