Marblehead

Charles R. Grader, Ph.D, age 78, died Friday, February 12, 2010, following a long illness.

Dr. Grader was born and raised in Marblehead, son of the late George W. and Geneva F. (Smith) Grader, and graduated from Marblehead High School in the Class of 1949. After attending the United States Coast Guard Academy and completing his Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University in 1954, he received his commission in the United States Coast Guard, where he served for three years as a gunnery officer and then commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter 83506. The Coast Guard formed and shaped his lifelong love of service.

In 1958, Dr. Grader enrolled in a course of advanced studies in international relations at the London School of Economics, where he met his former wife Dr. Sheila Grader, and then he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He served in the Bureau of the Budget (BOB) in the Executive Office in President Kennedy's administration, where he became involved with the budget of the newly-formed United States Agency of International Development (USAID) and became BOB congressional representative for the "Food for Peace" legislation that provided surplus food to impoverished countries. Following the award of his Doctorate from the Fletcher School in 1966, Dr. Grader joined USAID, serving in the Africa Bureau in Tunisia and Senegal, and eventually leading the Regional Development Office in Cameroon for a variety of development initiatives across central Africa.

Dr. Grader spent a year on leave to earn an MBA from the Sloan Fellows Program at MIT in 1974, returning to duty with USAID as Mission Director for Nepal from 1974 to 1976 and as Mission Director to Afghanistan from 1977 to 1979. Dr. Grader's posting to Afghanistan began a long relationship with the country and its people, and his early belief in the importance of American interests in the region. He and his family were evacuated from Kabul on the eve of the Soviet invasion. Dr. Grader's devotion and enjoyment of rigorous field work continued as he returned to Africa to establish the first USAID programs in Uganda, immediately following the overthrow of Idi Amin, and in Zimbabwe, following post-apartheid formation of the new representative government of Robert Mugabe.

Dr. Grader retired from USAID and, from 1981 to 1985, was CEO of the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee, the world's largest bauxite mine located in the West African country of Guinea. He then returned to the United States and worked as Director of the Senior Executives Program at MIT where, from 1986 to 1996, he administered a variety of educational seminars and courses for business and government leaders from around the world.

Dr. Grader was called back to Afghanistan where he served from 1996 to 1999 as Managing Director of Afghanaid, Britain's principal aid organization in Afghanistan. Amid internal strife and the rise of the Taliban, he led and trained teams of local Afghans in the implementation of a variety of engineering and wheat production projects throughout the country. Following 9-11, Dr. Grader returned to Afghanistan as a UN International Observer for the 2002 elections of Afghanistan's first representative body in over 25 years. Following the US invasion of Iraq, Dr. Grader was the Chief of Party of the USAID Education Project to help re-build Iraq's national educational curriculum. He returned for his last tour in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2004, as Chief of Party of USAID's Rural Development Program dedicated to the re-building of roads, irrigation systems, and agriculture infrastructure.

The hallmark of Dr. Grader's legacy is his loving family, his devotion to service, his love of country, and his firm roots in his beloved town of Marblehead. He was tireless in calling young people to worthy service, which he felt was the great hope of America. He was an avid student of history with a practical mind, who nonetheless maintained his idealism and enthusiasm for life. He enjoyed working on his mountain retreat in the Pyrenees with the villagers and local craftsmen, whose company he enjoyed as much as that of world leaders. He came to share a love of opera, which was introduced to him later in life by his fiancée Rita Mehos.

Dr. Grader is survived by his two children from his prior marriage, Moses Grader, and his wife Gayle of Marblehead, and Sarah Ayotte, and her husband Rick of Essex, CT; by his fiancée Rita Mehos of Darien, CT; two brothers George Wilson "Bill" Grader and Dwight Judson "Buck" Grader both of Marblehead; and two grandchildren Zach and Nick.

His funeral services will be held on Friday, February 19, 2010, at 11:00 A.M.at St. Michael's Church, 26 Pleasant St. Marblehead to be followed by a celebration of life at the Boston Yacht Club. Interment will be private. At the family's request there are no visiting hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Afghanaid, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT, UK, or to the Central Asia Institute, Charles Grader Fund for Afghan Schools, P.O. Box 7209, Bozeman, MT 59771, USA. For online guest book or additional information please call (781) 631-8885 or visit www.MurphyFuneralHome.com.