Paul Schrade may be better known in American history because he was severely wounded when his friend Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 in Los Angeles. Why he was with Kennedy that night is much more important to him than what happened to him there.
He was there because in the sixties their agendas merged in civil rights, the farm workers struggle, building community unions in the inner cities and the effort to end the war against the people of Viet Nam. They were both activists. Robert Kennedy was his hope for a better and more peaceful world. He served as Labor Chair and was elected as a convention delegate in Kennedy’s California campaign,
Paul Hermann Schrade, husband of my late sister Monica, labor and community organizer with few equals, died peacefully at his Los Angeles home in the early hours of this morning after a short illness. In his final days, Paul was able to hear from many family members, friends and colleagues who phoned or visited.
Paul asked to be cremated and that his ashes be interred next to his late brothers, Bill and Jack, in Saratoga Springs NY where they were raised. The service in Saratoga will take place at a later date. Plans for a memorial service in Los Angeles are pending.
Donations in Paul’s memory can be made to the Dolores Huerta Foundation or to the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools Trust with a designation for the Paul Schrade Library.
As Paul’s sister Weezie said, “It was a privilege to have Paul in our lives.” He will be missed by so many.
Martin Weil
Dolores Huerta Foundation
P.O. Box 2087
Bakersfield, CA 93303
Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools Trust
(Paul Schrade Library)
701 S. Catalina St.
Los Angeles, CA 90005
