On October 29, 2016, Edward Anthony Dragon passed away peacefully in Reston, VA. Edward was born in Pawtucket, RI on October 27, 1928. He attended Grove Street Grammar School and East Senior High School in Pawtucket and graduated summa cum laude from Providence College in 1950. He obtained a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1954, and in 1957 a postgraduate law degree majoring in International Law and Trade.
As a young lawyer, he worked as an advance man during John F. Kennedy’s campaign for president in 1960. Following Kennedy’s election, he served as a consultant to the Executive Office of the President. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library holds a written interview with Edward describing his work as well as his long and prestigious legal career with United States Agency for International Development. During his 33-year career with the USAID (1963 to 1995), he served in Washington, DC and at American Embassies in Kenya, Senegal and Jamaica as Regional Legal Advisor. He traveled extensively throughout his life.
After retiring from USAID, he was appointed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for membership to the Foreign Service Grievance Board. For 12 years he served as Deputy Chairman, retiring in 2008.
Edward was a very modest person. He was always ready to welcome a newcomer and to help a colleague with the wide breadth of his legal knowledge. He was kind, humble, gracious and always a gentleman. His deeply held Catholic faith gave him great purpose in life and hope for the future. He will be sorely missed by many. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Catherine Dragon, Arlington, VA; daughter Linell M. Joyce (Bill), Herndon, VA; granddaughters, Susie E. Joyce, Reston, VA and Annie J. Powell (Kevin), Potomac Falls, VA; three great-grandchildren; a brother, Joseph (Carol), Coventry, RI and many other extended family. A sister, Frances Gryzb, and a brother, Stanley, predeceased him.
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