Remembering Winston S. Churchill, IV

Today, March 2, 2011 marks the one-year anniversary of the passing of Winston S. Churchill, IV, Grandson of Sir Winston Spencer-Churchill one of the great leaders of our time, following a long and valiant battle with Prostate Cancer.

He will always be in our thoughts and prayers, as will his faithful and courageous widow, Luce, who never left his side during Chemo treatments that left him weak and unable to maintain the energetic lifestyle to which he was so accustomed.

Of his wife’s devotion he said, "We had a friend over from Palm Beach who said that I have a team of highly qualified, devoted, round-the-clock nurses. They are all called Luce.” Never more true was the saying “Behind every great man, there is a great woman.”

Throughout his life, young Winston, IV (shown above with Sir Winston and father Randolph) strove to preserve and emulate the leadership style of his famous Grandfather.

In his Obituary published March 3, 2010 in the British Newspaper, The Telegraph it was noted that “Churchill was frequently at the bedside during his grandfather’s final coma; his elder son Randolph was born two days before the great man died. At the funeral he and his father walked beside the gun carriage, and afterward Lady Churchill came to stay. He kept the flame alive as a trustee of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, an honorary fellow of Churchill and an honorary LLD of Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, where Sir Winston’s “Iron Curtain” speech was delivered (March 5, 1946).”

Perhaps his greatest legacy is his work on a book of famous speeches by Sir Winston entitled “Never Give In: The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches”, Hyperion, 2003.

The book, unfortunately, doesn’t include Churchill’s secret speech to the House of Commons, given April 23, 1943, in which he cataloged his country’s dire military situation and expressed faith in the United States. But the stirring testimonies during the dark days of the war and even after his political defeat show such grace and eloquence: “Never flinch, never weary, never despair,” he declared.

I wonder what he’d make of the current whining by the so-called leaders of modern times. Perhaps a copy of Winston, IV’s book should be required reading for every Member of the US Congress. If you believe this to be true, consider purchasing a copy and dispatch to your elected official.

I can think of no greater way to honor the life of Winston, IV.