Henry Kissinger dies at 100 in Kent

Henry Kissinger signing books in the Kent Memorial Library.
Photo by Lans Christensen
KENT — Henry Kissinger, 100, one of the most controversial figures of the latter half of the 20th century, died at his Kent home Wednesday, Nov. 29, according to a statement from his consulting firm, Kissinger Associates.
The statement said: “He will be interred at a private family service. At a later date there will be a memorial service in New York City.”
He is survived by his wife, Nancy (Maginnes) Kissinger; two children: David and Elizabeth; and five grandchildren.
Kissinger had made a home in Kent since the early 1980s, when he bought the Henderson Blueberry Farm on Henderson Road. He was active in diplomatic circles until the end of his long life, and it was there he met with Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng on May 26 of this year, the day before his 100th birthday. The pair reportedly had an in-depth exchange of views on China/U.S. relations, and international and regional issues of common interest.
In July, Kissinger traveled to China where he met President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders in Beijing.
Despite his larger-than-life impact on the world stage, Kissinger engaged with his fellow townspeople. He supported the Kent Volunteer Fire Department and attended its carnival every year that he was able, where he and his wife would stop for a grinder at the Rod and Gun Club booth before going on to the bingo tent to play with family, employees, and friends such as the late designer Oscar de la Renta.
A good friend of Dolph and Audrey Traymon, he would often broadcast interviews from the Traymons’ Victorian house on Main Street and dine at their restaurant, the Fife ’n Drum.
Early in his Kent residency, he even used his vaunted diplomatic skills to smooth over a local kerfuffle over blueberries growing on his property. There was an outcry from the community about the destruction of the blueberry bushes that had a been a staple of Pick-Your-Own in Kent for years. Kissinger donated the blueberry bushes to Kent School, and they were planted at the girls school campus atop Skiff Mountain, now Marvelwood School. Kent residents have had free access to the bushes ever since.
Earlier in the 2000s, he participated in a program on Russia presented by the Kent Informal Club and the Kent Memorial Library.
Ken Cooper, then-president of the library board, knew the Kissingers well. “There is so much to say [about him],” Cooper said. “Those of us in Kent saw a different side of Dr. Kissinger as a regular, normal presence in our community. He was a regular guy and very gracious to everyone. He was very supportive of the land trust, the library and the fire department. He loved nature and pets — his dog ate supper at the table with him every night.
“When we started the lecture series,” Cooper continued, “he was instrumental in bringing major international figures to speak in Kent. One of striking things I remember is that we were very honored when [civil rights leader] John Lewis came to speak. We had a dinner for him the evening before, and we invited Dr. Kissinger and Nancy to attend. Dr. Kissinger stood up in the middle of the dinner and raise his glass in a toast to John Lewis. He said, ‘You are a Democrat, and I am a Republican, but I want you to know that we are deeply indebted as a country, and I am indebted as a citizen, for your contribution to civil rights in our country.’ I thought that was a very magnanimous thing to do.”
Cooper noted that Kissinger and his wife were a team. “Nancy and Henry were a team, they would finish each other’s sentences,” he said. “They were very affectionate, very fond and respectful of each other. And they made sure they shared credit for anything they did.”
But his time in Kent was just a homely backdrop to his career in what has been termed “the most powerful secretary of state of the post-war era.” His complicated legacy still resonates in this nation’s relations with China, Russia and the Middle East. Kissinger engineered opening relations between China and the United States during the Nixon administration, negotiated America’s withdrawal from Vietnam and a détente with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.
In the 1970s, Kissinger, who described power as an aphrodisiac, was second in power only to President Richard M. Nixon, having joined the Nixon White House in January 1969 as national security adviser and later serving as secretary of state. When Nixon resigned, he stayed on under President Gerald Ford.
He advised 12 presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Joe Biden. His cunning and a ruthlessly practical approach to international relations caused him to be heralded by some and reviled by others. His secret negotiations with China led to Nixon’s most famous foreign policy achievement and was designed to isolate the Soviet Union. It set the stage for today’s complex and sometimes fraught relationship between the two dominant economies. He was the only American to deal with every Chinese leader from Mao to Xi.
His involvement in the United States’ role in Vietnam was deeply divisive. Reportedly never persuaded the United States could win the guerrilla war, he nevertheless guided the Nixon administration in some of its most controversial moves. He was accused of breaking international law by authorizing the secret carpet-bombing of Cambodia in 1969-’70, an action against a neutral nation designed to root out the pro-Communist Vietcong forces operating across the border. The indiscriminate bombing killed 50,000 civilians.
He was known to quip: “The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.”
He negotiated the Paris
Peace Accords that ended American involvement in Vietnam, calling it “peace with honor,” and was awarded the 1973 Noble Peace Prize for his role, but critics argued he could have made the same deal years earlier, saving thousands of lives.
He was the architect of the Nixon administration’s efforts to topple Chile’s democratically elected Socialist president, Salvador Allende. And when Pakistan’s U.S.-backed military was waging a genocidal war in East Pakistan [now Bangladesh] in 1971, he and Nixon ignored pleas to stop the massacre and approved weapons shipments to Pakistan, whose president served as a conduit for Kissinger’s courtship of China. At least 300,000 people were killed in East Pakistan and 10 million refugees were driven into India.
Once an advocate of limited nuclear war, he later reversed his opinion, conceding it might not be possible to contain escalation. By the end of his life, he had embraced the effort to gradually eliminate all nuclear weapons and, at age 95, began to warn against weapons controlled by artificial intelligence.
Courtesy of the Kent Good Times Dispatch, Kentgtd.org
Kissinger was born Heinz Alfred Kissinger to Louis and Paula (Stern) of Fürth, Bavaria, on May 27, 1923. His father lost his job in 1935 when the Nuremberg Laws forbade Jews from teaching in state schools. For three years, Paula Kissinger sought a way to get the family out of the country and, in 1938, the family was allowed to leave Germany when Kissinger was 15. When war broke out, at least 13 of the family’s close relatives died in concentration camps.
The Kissingers settled in Washington Heights, then a haven for German Jewish refugees. His father got a job as a bookkeeper but never fully adjusted to his adopted land. Kissinger dropped the Germanic “Heinz” in high school and adopted the name Henry. In 1940, he enrolled in City College, excelling in his classes, before being drafted by the Army in 1943.
The Army and the war were transformative for the young soldier. He heard a talk about the “moral and political stakes of the war,” and it reportedly changed the direction of his life. He served in Germany as a translator and, in the last months of the war, interrogated captured Gestapo officers and read their mail. He received a Bronze Star for his participation in efforts to uncover sabotage campaigns against American forces.
After the war, Kissinger remained in Germany as a civilian instructor teaching American officers how to uncover former Nazi officers, work that allowed him to crisscross the country. He was alarmed by what he saw as Communist subversion of Germany.
He returned to the United States in 1947 to resume his college education, entering Harvard as a sophomore. He remained at that august institution for two decades, finding fame as a professor before the divisiveness of the Vietnam War drove a wedge so sharply between him and his colleagues he vowed never to return.
Kissinger graduated summa cum laude in 1950, and with the Korean War underway, accepted consulting work for the government that took him to Japan and South Korea. He returned to Harvard to earn a Ph.D. and he and political science professor William Elliott started the Harvard International Seminar, a network that produced a number of leaders in world affairs.
Mr. Kissinger received his Ph.D. in 1954 and Kissinger joined an elite study group at the Council on Foreign Relations, whose mission was to study the impact of nuclear weapons on foreign policy. It was there that he produced his first book, a bestseller titled “Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy.”
In it, he argued that if an American president is paralyzed by fear of escalation, the concept of nuclear deterrence will fail. Many scholars panned the book, believing Kissinger had overestimated the nation’s ability to keep limited war limited; to this day scholars refer to it, looking for lessons to apply to cyberwarfare.
The success of the book led Kissinger back to Harvard as a lecturer. His classes were popular, but he was soon immersed in academic politics. He received tenure in 1959, announced by his old champion, Dean MacGeorge Bundy. By 1961 Bundy was national security adviser to John F. Kennedy, but Kissinger was unsuccessful in following him to the White House.
At this time, Kissinger renewed his friendship with Nelson Rockefeller, who then appeared to be a good presidential prospect for 1968. He also met a junior Rockefeller aid, Nancy Maginnes, whom he married years later. Kissinger had earlier married Anneliese “Ann” Fleischer in 1949. They had two children, Elizabeth and David, and divorced in 1964.
Kissinger wrote speeches for Rockefeller denouncing his Republican rival, Richard Nixon. But when Nixon won the nomination, Kissinger accepted an invitation to serve on Nixon’s foreign policy board. He was said to have used his own contacts to funnel information about Lyndon Baines Johnson’s Paris negotiations with the Vietnamese back to the Nixon campaign.
Whether he did or did not, Kissinger was on Nixon’s radar, and after the election, he was appointed national security adviser. Nixon directed Kissinger to run national security affairs from the White House, cutting out the State Department and Nixon’s own secretary of state, William P. Rogers. Kissinger consolidated his power, meeting often with Nixon, often without staff members present, laying the groundwork for his long and convoluted history as one of America’s premier architects of foreign policy.
Courtesy of the Kent Good Times Dispatch, Kentgtd.org
SALISBURY — Joseph Robert Meehan the 2nd,photographer, college professor and nearly 50 year resident of Salisbury, passed away peacefully at Noble Horizon on June 17, 2025. He was 83.
He was the son of Joseph Meehan the 1st and his mother, Anna Burawa of Levittown, New York, and sister Joanne, of Montgomery, New York.
He is predeceased by his wife, Elsie Lynn Meehan who passed away in November of 2023.
He leaves behind a son, Joseph Cortese, of Upton Massachusetts, his wife Mary and grandchildren, Michaela (Cortese)Donabedian, her husband Sevag and his great grandson, Ari, of Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
His grandson, Joseph Cortese, of Barrington, Rhode Island, and his granddaughter, Jaclyn Cortese of Tamworth, New Hampshire.
He also leaves behind his daughter, Kathleen Cortese Zito and husband Dominic, their three children, Michael, Alessandra, and Mathew Zito of Broomall, Pennsylvania.
After teachingpsychology at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, starting in 1968, his40-year career in photography started in the mid to late 70’s and has included assignment work for a wide variety of commercial and editorial publications. Over a thousand of his photographs have appeared in newspapers, books, magazines and on web sites for clients such as Nikon, and Hasselblad cameras, SanDisk memory cards, Tiffen Filters, Fujifilm, Eastman Kodak, the U.S. Army, National Geographic, the Smithsonian Museum and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
His work ranged from the beauty of the Salisbury areato an expedition photographer for arctic animal studies in the high Canadian Arctic, photographing Inuit hunters in Northern Greenland to landscape work in other extreme locals such as Death Valley, California.
Portfolios of his work have featured in such magazines as Outdoor Photographer, Shutterbug, Rangefinder and Popular Photography and his style has been characterized by the New York Times as “…alive with color and sparkling with light.”
He also served as the technical editor of Photo District News for over a decade, writing about new technologies and products and was the former editor of the Photography Yearbook. He has authored over 20 books on photographic technique many of which have received “best book” awards and have been translated into several languages.
Born in New York City, he was a 1959 graduate of Levittown High School, Levittown, New York.
He received his baccalaureate degree with honors from Columbia and a Master of Arts degree from Manhattan College. He has taught photography on the college level in the U.S., England and at the National Academy of Arts in Taiwan and gave workshops at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre in West Palm Beach, Florida.
His eye always saw the beauty of the Salisbury area through alens and he captured those images in an area that he and his wife Lynn loved.
When they were not on/in and around the lake, he and Lynn didn’t miss any of their grandchildren’s big events.Joe took great pride in photographing all these memorable events.
His beautiful images will always be here for all to appreciate.
Funeral services are under the direction of Newkirk-Palmer funeral home and a graveside service will be held this Friday, June 27, 2025, at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cemetery, 18 Cobble Road, Salisbury, Connecticut.
STANFORDVILLE, New York — It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Florence Olive Zutter Murphy, who went home to be with the Lord on June 16, 2025, at the age of 99.
She was born in Sharon, Connecticut on Nov. 20, 1925, and was a long time resident of the Dutchess County area.
She was a devoted mother, loving wife to James Francis Murphy, who passed on Oct. 11, 1971, and a dear friend to many.
Florence, who was also known as Flo, managed a dairy farm for many years on Carpenter Hill Road in Pine Plains, New York. She is remembered for her delicious home cooked meals.
After raising her children she became an avid square dancer, racketball and tennis player. She then discovered her love for bike riding. She enjoyed embarking on bike tours well into her mid 80’s. When Flo wasn’t out riding her bike she could be found taking care of her property. She loved gardening, clearing the woods and building rock walls one stone at a time.
Florence was an amazing woman of great integrity, strength and tenacity. She was adored, respected and greatly loved by her family and those who knew her.
Florence is survived by her seven children — Bonnie June Chase, James Albert Murphy, Donna Sue Strauss, Jackie Lynn Merwin Disher, Glenn William Murphy, Lori Lee Mora and Clint Evan Murphy as well as 16 grand children and 20 great grand children.
She will always be remembered and greatly missed.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
Chore Service hosted 250 supporters at it’s annual Garden Party fundraiser.
On Saturday, June 21, Mort Klaus, longtime Sharon resident, hosted 250 enthusiastic supporters of Northwest Corner’s beloved nonprofit, Chore Service at his stunning 175-acre property. Chore Service provides essential non-medical support to help older adults and those with disabilities maintain their independence and quality of life in their own homes.
Jane MacLaren, Executive Director, and Dolores Perotti, Board President, personally welcomed arriving attendees. The well-stocked bar and enticing hors d’oeuvres table were popular destinations as the crowd waited for the afternoon’s presentations.
Jane MacLaren, Executive Director of Chore Service, and Mort Klaus, host of the Garden Party eventBob Ellwood
The Garden Party is Chore Service’s only major fundraising event of the year, so it was not only a wonderful social activity, but a vital support mechanism to keep our most vulnerable residents in their homes.
First to present was MacLaren, who underlined the organization’s mission, thanked all caregivers for their important work, and said, with gratitude, to all donors, “Our accomplishments are your accomplishments.”
Ellen Ebbs, a Litchfield resident and Chore client, delivered a powerful and deeply personal testimony, sharing how the organization’s services transformed her life after a serious fall left her “disabled, dependent, and depressed.” Her story resonated with the audience and highlighted the vital impact of Chore’s work.
Priscilla McCord, outgoing Board Chair of Chore Service and Patrick Roy, incoming Chair.Bob Ellwood
Patrick Roy, high-energy incoming Chair of the Board, as well as First Selectman of Roxbury and Chief of its police force, told the crowd of his “Fragile List” — those in the community a step away from losing their independence, and how he ensured that this group was adequately taken care of. Priscillia McCord, outgoing Board Chair after twelve years of unstinting service, asked for donations for Fund the Cause, urgently needed to support the recently-expanded transportation services before funding runs out in September. As Patrick Roy said, “In rural towns like ours, our clients depend on us for basic services — to get to their medical appointments, go grocery shopping, as well as life-enhancing activities like going to the library and getting a weekly lift to visit family and friends.” Both Roy and McCord emphasized the area of greatest current concern — that of an upcoming decrease in federal funding, something we will learn more about in August.
Chore Service supports the towns of Cornwall, Falls Village, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, Norfolk, North Canaan, Roxbury, Salisbury/Lakeville, Sharon, Warren, and Washington.
For those interested in accessing services or providing them, please contact Chore Service at (860) 435-9177. To learn more about the organization or to donate, go to www.choreservice.org.
Sally Haver has lived in the Berkshires, on and off, since the mid-’70’s and her horse lives in Amenia.
The mission statement of the Berkshire Bach Society (BBS) reads: “Our mission is to preserve the cultural legacy of Baroque music for current and future audiences — local, national, and international — by presenting the music of J.S. Bach, his Baroque predecessors, contemporaries, and followers performed by world-class musicians.”
Its mission will once again be fulfilled by presenting a concert featuring Dane Johansen on June 28 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 29 Main Street, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Terrill McDade, Executive Director of BBS, said, “Dane is a supremely talented musician and a musical poet. Audiences will hear his cello speak in three different musical dialects: those of Bach, Gaspar Cassadó, and Benjamin Britten. They will experience and be able to find the idiom that means the most to them. The music is classical, contemporary, and modern. It is contemplative, energetic, lyrical, rhythmic, and, in the end, philosophical. The audience is in for that rare musical treat of an intimate recital of profound music interpreted by a solo player who gives them something to think about —whether consciously or sub-consciously.”
McDade added, “Berkshire Bach believes it is very important to present live performances of a variety of Baroque music throughout the season, especially in this time in our society. Music has restorative power, and when played by fine musicians, can provide moments of respite and reflection that do us good.”
Johansen’s recital on June 28 is a case in point. The sound of the cello — so close to that of the human voice —makes us feel better somehow — refreshed in our spirit, hopeful, better able to carry on in difficult times,” said McDade.
Johansen grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska. He graduated from Juilliard and is a member of the Cleveland Orchestra, which he joined in 2016. He has performed all over the world as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. He was a member of the Escher String Quartet and a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist.
The concert will conclude Berkshire Bach’s thirty-fifth season, which opened with the film “Strangers on the Earth,” also featuring Johansen as he walked the Camino de Santiago — the ancient 600-mile pilgrimage route extending through France and Spain — with his cello strapped to his back in 2014. He stopped in towns along the way and played the six Bach Cello Suites in local churches.
The concert will begin at 5pm. Tickets are available at: www.bershirebach.org/events.