Your Opinion: De Simone was passionate advocate for the poor

Rev. John Bennett

Jefferson City

Dear editor:

I was saddened in reading the notice of the death of Peter De Simone. His obituary (9-2-18) reveals the breadth and depth of his unique life: the son of Sicilian immigrants; among the first Peace Corps volunteers in 1961; using his civil engineering skills in on a major road-building project in Tanganyika (now Tanzania); serving as a foreign service officer in Uganda and Sierra Leone; serving as a manager for VISTA Volunteers and concluding his long years of social justice advocacy as executive director of the Missouri Association of Social Welfare (now Empower Missouri), a position he held for 25 years until his retirement in 2002. It was in that position that I observed his passionate and articulate advocacy for the poor and vulnerable citizens of Missouri. His legislative advocacy at the Capitol was outstanding and recognized by colleagues as exemplary. Thousands of Missourians are indebted to him and many of us remember him as a dear friend.