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In January 2000, Stanley Miller, the co-founder of the John William Ward Public Service Fellowship Program, died at the age of sixty-eight.  I met Stan in 1977, when I was thirty.  Stan was an extraordinary friend and mentor to me, and many others. 

As I reflect on his life and death, I realize that Stan intuitively personified W. B. Yeats’ injunction to:

Begin the preparation for your death
And from the fortieth winter by that thought
Test every work of intellect or faith,
And everything that your hands have wrought,
And call those works extravagance of breath
That are not suited for such men as come
Proud, open-eyed and laughing to the tomb.

In good health, Stan was exceptionally energetic, exuberant and encouraging, particularly to younger people.  From modest family circumstances, but with the education he gratefully received at Boston Latin School, Harvard College, and Harvard Business School, Stan was a great success in both life and business.  He was devoted to his wonderful family and also ultimately became the President of a prestigious international organization of Chief Executive Officers.  However, Stan used his own success as a foundation for helping others.

Stan served as the President of the Boston Latin School Association, Harvard Business School Alumni Association, and Harvard Club, as well as a trustee of Radcliffe College.  He generously supported many charitable causes, and was especially dedicated to the camp for Jewish youth that he attended as a boy.

In the past fifteen years, the Ward Fellowship became a particular passion for Stan.  As I wrote last year, in 1986 he introduced me and the concept of the program to BLS Head Master Michael Contompasis.  Several years later, he donated the $50,000 fee that he reluctantly accepted for his work as the Receiver for the bankrupt New England Patriots football stadium to help fund the fledgling program.

Each year Stan participated in selecting the Ward Fellows and proclaimed the present class to be "the best ever."  Often at the end of the summer he hosted the Fellows at a luncheon at the Harvard Club or a pool party at his home.  He would always congratulate them on their accomplishments and urge them to create an effective alumni network. Last Thanksgiving, just two months before his death, an impaired Stan met with a group of former Fellows to discuss the vision that we shared for the future, which he and his wife Helaine had made another generous contribution to support.  Stan and I expressed the hope that a program of summer internships in Washington, D.C. and an effective Web page linking former Fellows would be established, and that a meaningful symposium to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the Fellowship would be held.  As reflected in this newsletter, thanks to the exceptional efforts of Dawn Smalls and Ronaldo Rauseo-Ricupero respectively, the Stanley Miller White House Internship program and Web page are already realities.