On April 24, 2016, Harris Wofford wrote a commentary in the New York Times announcing his upcoming marriage. As a widower of 90 years of age, he had found love again and would marry his longtime companion the following Saturday.
Wofford spent most of his career as a public servant and champion of civil rights. He served in the US army during World War II; worked as a legal assistant on the United States Commission on Civil Rights; was appointed by then-President Kennedy as a Special Assistant to the President for Civil Rights, and then served as the chairman of the Subcabinet Group on Civil Rights. He was also a special advisor to Martin Luther King. He followed these accomplishments with his appointment as a special representative in the Peace Corps. When the current senator of Pennsylvania Senator H. John Heinz III was killed in a plane crash, the state’s governor appointed Wofford to fill his Heinz’s position. He represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate from 1991-1995. After his term in the senate, Wofford continued to champion human rights and through federal government positions and college teaching positions.
Wofford married the former Clare Lundgren in 1948, and together they raised their three children. He and Clare were together until her death from cancer in 1996.
In 2001, Wofford met his current companion, 40-year-old Matthew Charlton, and they began a 15-year relationship. According to Wofford, although they have “far different professional interests,” the two “just clicked.”
“We took trips around the country and later to Europe together, becoming great friends… We both felt the immediate spark, and as time went on, we realized that our bond had grown into love. Other than with Clare, I had never felt love blossom this way before.”
He said he’s “lucky” to have found love for the second time, especially in a time when the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that matrimony is not based on anyone’s sexual nature, choices or dreams; but based on love.
May they have a long, happy life together.