One of the more influential members of the conservative movement in America has died and most Americans likely have never heard his name. Michael S. Joyce, who passed away Friday at the age of 63, was one of the most important philanthropic leaders in America and as such, a crucial leader in the conservative movement. He was truly a person who made ideas become reality and changed the country for the better.
John J. Miller has an obit at National Review:
Joyce may go down in conservative history as one of its most important philanthropic spenders, but in fact he was a great builder — a builder of ideas and institutions that already have outlasted him and almost certainly will outlast the rest of us.
The Millwauke Journal Sentinel also has one:
Michael S. Joyce loved ideas, and he loved political and ideological fights.
In using the second to promote the first, he became a central force in shaping the way Milwaukee and Wisconsin evolved and a pioneer in pushing conservative philanthropy and advocacy nationwide.
For more on this important work see Miller’s recently released work A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America .
I am filing your today’s entry under things I would never have known if I didn’t blog. I don’t suppose CNN will note his death. In any case he made a difference.