In Memoriam
Perdita Huston (1936-2001)

Perdita Huston, 65, the journalist whose pioneering books on women in less developed societies have informed development policies since the 1960s, died December 4, 2001 at her Silver Spring home. The cause was ovarian cancer.

Beginning with her involvement in the Algerian war for independence, Ms. Huston reported on the social consequences of conflict and the emerging global trends of the post colonial period. Her early work interviewing rural women in less developed countries resulted in two books, Message From the Village (1977) and Third World Women Speak Out (1978) and led the way for scholars and development professionals to better understand the situation and potential of women and their families. Her articles and books are based on interviews with ordinary people and thus give voice to the views of those affected by the major social, political and environmental issues of our time.

A native of Maine, Ms. Huston completed her university studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Internationales in Paris. She worked for Time Inc. in the Paris bureau, and returned to the US in 1971 to join the staff of the US Bicentennial Commission. There she initiated a national women's program and directed the Citizen Participation program. In 1977 she joined the Peace Corps staff as Regional Director for North Africa, Near East, Asia and the Pacific. In 1981 she was appointed Scholar in Residence at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts and was subsequently asked to initiate the Population and Sustainable Development Program at the World Conservation Union in Gland, Switzerland. There, too, she focused attention on women's roles in environmental management and organized the first international women's meeting on environmental management. When Director of Public Affairs of the International Planned Parenthood Federation in London, Ms. Huston took the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of that organization to write a history of the early pioneers of family planning in twelve countries, based on interviews with the activists themselves or their co-workers; Motherhood by Choice (1991). For the next five years, Ms Huston traveled to 11 nations interviewing three generations of families for her latest book, Families As We Are, Conversations from Around the World (2001), which was published this spring. In 1997, Ms. Huston had returned to the Peace Corps as a Country Director for its programs in Mali and then Bulgaria.

Survivors include her daughter Françoise Champey Pommier, her son-in-law Dr. Yves Pommier, her grandchildren Gabriel and Elie Pommier, all of Bethesda, MD; her daughter Jeanne Marie Champey Paynel, her son-in-law Joel Paynel, her grandchildren, Eliza Marion and Adrien Paynel, all of San Diego, CA; her son Pierre Marc Diennet of Brooklyn, NY; and her sister, Maryanne Worthing of Bishop, CA.

In lieu of flowers, please send tax-deductible contributions to the newly established "Perdita Huston Human Rights Fund". The United Nations Association of the National Capitol Area has created this fund for UNANCA activities in support of human rights with special attention to women's rights. Make checks payable to UNANCA, 1808 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 101, Washington, DC 20009.