Richard N. Goodwin

Richard N. Goodwin age 86 passed away on Sunday, May 20, 2018 at his Concord residence surrounded by his loving family and friends. Mr. Goodwin is survived by his wife of 42 years Doris Kearns Goodwin and their sons Michael and Joseph and granddaughters Willa and Lena of Massachusetts, and his son Richard of California. Mr. Goodwin was an author, playwright, and former political advisor and White House speechwriter to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and to Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He crafted what are widely considered to be some of the greatest and most influential presidential speeches in American history, including Lyndon Johnsons civil rights We Shall Overcome and Great Society speeches, John F. Kennedys Latin American speeches, and Robert Kennedys ripple of hope speech in South Africa in 1966. Mr. Goodwin graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University and Harvard Law School and served as a Law Clerk to United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter, before being appointed as special counsel to the Legislative Oversight Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Goodwin, at the age of just 29, entered the White House as an aide to President John F. Kennedy, and served as Assistant Special Counsel to the President and as a key specialist on President Kennedys Task Force on Latin-American affairs, originating the Alliance for Progress and meeting in secret with Che Guevara in Uruguay in August 1961. Mr. Goodwin also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, and was Secretary-General of the International Peace Corps. After President Kennedys assassination, Mr. Goodwin served as the Special Assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson, where he formulated the concept of the Great Society and drafted many of President Johnsons major addresses and messages dealing with civil rights. President Johnson asked Mr. Goodwin to write his historic 1965 civil rights speech, which came to be known as the We Shall Overcome speech, which became the cornerstone of progress for voting rights and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that President Johnson signed five months later. Family and friends will gather to honor the life and legacy of Mr. Goodwin on Friday, June 15, 2018 at 12:00 noon at the First Parish in Concord, 20 Lexington Rd., Concord. Concords town flag will fly at half-staff on Friday, June 15 in honor of Mr. Goodwins service to his country in the United States Army. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Mr. Goodwins name to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support head and neck research and care, 10 Brookline Place West, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445, to the attention of Hillary D. Repucci, or online at danafarber giving.org. Arrangements under the care of Glenn D. Burlamachi, Concord Funeral Home, A Life Celebration Home, Concord. To share a memory or offer condolences visit: www.concordfuneral.com.