Ed Scherr, an appreciation
By Alan KotokEd Scherr was a friend and valued colleague, but most of all Ed was a mensch. A mensch, loosely translated from Yiddish, is a stand-up guy, someone you can trust. Ed was all that and more.
Ed's continuing enthusiasm and positive nature made working with the man a joy. John Walsh, a colleague of Ed's after the State Department merger, says in an email, “He was full of good cheer. He was proud of his work and his family and of himself. He was a selfless colleague. He was loved and respected by everyone on the team.”
Ed and I had much in common: Jewish men with a stutter who worked at USIA. Ed stayed on in the Agency’s Press and Publications Service after I left for the private sector in 1984. I never worked directly with Ed at USIA, but later on we produced the PDAA Today print newsletter four times a year, from 2005 to 2018.
Ed was responsible for compiling news about PDAA members and recruited essays from the group’s members on the next chapter of their lives. Through Ed’s good work we learned about former Agency people working as clergy, ski instructor, grief counselor, and jewelry designer, as well as writers, educators, and lobbyists.
Ed’s main contribution in each issue was the In Memoriam section, documenting our public diplomacy colleagues and spouses who died. Ed learned to write obituaries at the old Washington Evening Star, where he worked before joining USIA. With obits, writing must be clear and concise to note a person's highlights and sometimes their problems in a respectful tone. We had limited space in our newsletter, so Ed had to pack in many key facts in just a few sentences.
But he didn't keep this skill to himself. In the October 2016 newsletter, Ed authored a guide to writing your own obituary. “We write wills, medical directives, and even long autobiographies,” said Ed in the story. “But though an obituary, or obit, we can share our lives and days in USIA/State with our family, friends, and former colleagues. Newspapers may not carry extensive obits, and a lengthy paid obit is expensive. But in this technological era, emails, social networks, and the web can be channels to share your life story.”
Ed and I kept in touch after that by email, Facebook, and occasional phone calls. Even after losing his wife Charlene a few years ago, Ed maintained his positive outlook. We would revel in the fact that a fellow stutterer made it to the White House, of all things.
We have a saying, “May his memory be a blessing.” With Ed, it is indeed.
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(Photo: Ed Scherr (center) with Alan Kotok (left) and PDAA President Cynthia Efird (right) in 2018.
Ed's updated guide to preparing an obituary is available on the PDCA Website.
Ed's updated guide to preparing an obituary is available on the PDCA Website.