Margaret McNamara
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Margaret Craig McNamara (August 22, 1915 – February 3, 1981) was the founder of the nonprofit children's literacy organization Reading is Fundamental and the wife of the
United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...
Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American businessman and government official who served as the eighth United States secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson ...
.


Life and work

McNamara was born on August 22, 1915, in
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, and grew up in Alameda,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. McNamara attended
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, where she met
Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American businessman and government official who served as the eighth United States secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson ...
, whom she would marry on August 13, 1940. Her husband's appointment by
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
as U.S. Secretary of Defense led to their move to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Her experiences while tutoring three children in the District led to the formation of Reading Is Fundamental. On January 16, 1981,
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
awarded McNamara the Medal of Freedom for her work with RIF. She died of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
eighteen days later, at the age of 65.Deaths
a February 16, 1981, article from ''Time'' magazine.
In summer of 1981, her ashes were scattered by her family on a mountainside meadow at Buckskin Pass, near
Snowmass Village, Colorado Snowmass Village is a home rule municipality in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The population was 3,096 at the 2020 census. A popular winter resort location for skiing and snowboarding, the town is well known as the location of the ...
. Margaret Craig McNamara is commemorated on her husband's grave marker in
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...
.


Legacy


Reading is Fundamental

After many early organizational meeting with other educators in the District, McNamara secured a $150,000 grant from the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
to support pilot activities in the District of Columbia. Following the success RIF had in Washington, the Ford Foundation increased RIF's grant to $285,000 in August 1968, enabling RIF to launch ten model programs across the country. From these early beginnings, RIF evolved into a national motivating force for literacy. At the time of McNamara's death in 1981, RIF had provided "more than 3 million poor children with 37 million books." Today, through its contract with the
U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...
and with private funds, RIF provides 16 million free books for children to choose and keep each year. RIF programs operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. RIF is also affiliated with programs in Argentina and the United Kingdom. It achieves high visibility through
public service announcements A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. Oftentimes these messages feature unsettling imagery, ideas or behaviors that are des ...
on
children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...
programs.


Margaret McNamara Education Grants

The Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund was established in 1981 to honor Margaret McNamara and her commitment to the well-being of women and children in developing countries. Grants are provided annually to support the university education of women from developing countries who are committed to improving the lives of women and children. Grant recipients study in diverse fields. The volunteer non-profit organization was rebranded as ''Margaret McNamara Education Grants'' in 2015.


References


External links


Margaret McNamara Education Grants website

Reading is Fundamental website
*
McNamara Biography
on Reading is Fundamental website

a June 3, 2008, article from ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
''. {{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Margaret 1915 births 1981 deaths Grants (money) Reading skill advocates Burials at Arlington National Cemetery University of California, Berkeley alumni Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C. Place of birth missing Educators from Seattle