In Remembrance: C. Peter Strong ’48 Died on July 4 2020

C. Peter Strong, 93, passed away peacefully on Saturday July 4, 2020, in Garrison, New York. Born in New York City, Peter was raised in Washington, DC. He graduated from Putney School in Vermont in 1944, then served in the Marine Corps until 1946. He obtained an undergraduate degree in sociology at Yale in 1948, then studied the cello in Paris before teaching at Pine Cobble School in Williamstown, Massachusetts. In 1954 he obtained an MS in education from George Washington University and later, another MS in political science from Columbia University. In 1953, aboard a 47-foot yawl, Pavana, he skippered a transatlantic voyage to Norway where his father was serving as ambassador. There he met and later married his wife of many years, Mette Hjort Mathiesen. 

Between 1954 and 1957 he was engaged in programming and policy at Radio Free Europe, creating content supporting the Hungarian uprising. From 1959 to 1990 Peter served the American-Scandinavian Foundation, including 12 years as president and three years as chairman of the board. He was also chairman of the board of Bank Street College of Education, trustee of the Hattie M. Strong Foundation, and founder/director of the Conservation Society of Southern Vermont. In the late 1960s he preserved thousands of acres of land and rivers in Vermont, while pursuing his interest in natural resource energy and organic farming. Music, sculpting, land conservation, riding, skiing, sailing, and tennis were steady passions throughout his life. Peter is survived by his beloved six children: Karin, Bente, Ingrid, Berit, Leif, and Finn, and nine grandchildren. 

—Submitted by the family.