There is a lovely collection of comments about Bruce Wharton on the website of the Public Diplomacy Council of America.
It's here:
https://publicdiplomacy.org/remembering_bruce_wharton_by.php
I hope you enjoy it.
Love to all!
Mike
On Tue, Apr 21, 2026 at 7:55 AM Heather Dolstra via Winedale-l < winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org> wrote:
Bruce's wife, Julia Wharton, is on Facebook. As a theater person herself I bet she would LOVE to hear some the Winedale memories you all have been sharing. I, as usual, passed through too early.
Heather Dolstra
Sent from my Galaxy
-------- Original message -------- From: Jeff W Ellinger via Winedale-l winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: 4/18/26 10:55 PM (GMT-05:00) To: winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Winedale-l] Bruce Wharton
In the Winedale summer of 1979, Bruce was inspirational to all of us with his boundless enthusiasm for the work and his brilliant approach to the plays. My favorite memory of him was during a torrential thunderstorm when he climbed to the roof peak of the Barn and defied the lightning strikes around us as we mortals on the ground urged him to come down. He didn't. May his memory inspire others with his reckless courage and his love of the language and life found in these plays. Jeff Ellinger 1979 _______________________________________________ Winedale-l mailing list -- winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe send an email to winedale-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org _______________________________________________ Winedale-l mailing list -- winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe send an email to winedale-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org
50+ people who knew and worked with Bruce Wharton from his time spent in the US government diplomatic world offered their tributes to him. What they said in total is overwhelming. It seems as if there are not enough positive adjectives in the world to describe Bruce. However, two comments stood out:
"What a mensch! May his memory be a blessing." (AMB Virginia Palmer) "'St. Bruce,' as he was sometimes called in the building, was the best of us -- a brilliant man, a great mentor, a good friend, and a public diplomat who did well by doing good." (former FSO Denise Jobin-Welch)
For those unfamiliar with the word, Mensch is a beautiful Yiddish word worth knowing. The writer Loren Kantor once wrote, "In Jewish culture, there is no greater honor than being called a mensch. A mensch is kind and decent. A mensch is a person of integrity, someone who is humble and empathetic. Growing up in a Jewish household, I often heard my parents implore me to "'be a mensch.'"
I don't know if Bruce was Jewish. I doubt it. But based on these heartfelt tributes, he more than deserved the high complement of being called a mensch.
Thank you, Mike, for finding and sharing these tributes to Bruce. They're been moving, revelatory and enlightening to read. For example, I wasn't aware, until after reading the comments, that Bruce - in his spare time - liked to build motorcycles and guitars and collect them.
David Sharpe
On Tue, Apr 28, 2026 at 12:38 PM Michael Godwin via Winedale-l < winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org> wrote:
There is a lovely collection of comments about Bruce Wharton on the website of the Public Diplomacy Council of America.
It's here:
https://publicdiplomacy.org/remembering_bruce_wharton_by.php
I hope you enjoy it.
Love to all!
Mike
On Tue, Apr 21, 2026 at 7:55 AM Heather Dolstra via Winedale-l < winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org> wrote:
Bruce's wife, Julia Wharton, is on Facebook. As a theater person herself I bet she would LOVE to hear some the Winedale memories you all have been sharing. I, as usual, passed through too early.
Heather Dolstra
Sent from my Galaxy
-------- Original message -------- From: Jeff W Ellinger via Winedale-l winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: 4/18/26 10:55 PM (GMT-05:00) To: winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Winedale-l] Bruce Wharton
In the Winedale summer of 1979, Bruce was inspirational to all of us with his boundless enthusiasm for the work and his brilliant approach to the plays. My favorite memory of him was during a torrential thunderstorm when he climbed to the roof peak of the Barn and defied the lightning strikes around us as we mortals on the ground urged him to come down. He didn't. May his memory inspire others with his reckless courage and his love of the language and life found in these plays. Jeff Ellinger 1979 _______________________________________________ Winedale-l mailing list -- winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe send an email to winedale-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org _______________________________________________ Winedale-l mailing list -- winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe send an email to winedale-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org
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