Aram Bakshian Jr. never went to college. Legend has it that he was standing in the registration line at Georgetown University in the fall of 1962 and, struck by the banality of the conversations around him, decided to forgo the university experience and make his way in the world without it. As it happened, he made his way just fine, becoming a significant figure of the American conservative movement for more than a half century as congressional staffer, presidential speechwriter, author, commentator, and Washington raconteur. 

Bakshian died September 14 at age 78 from pancreatic cancer. In June, he wrote to friends informing them of the diagnosis and adding, “There is no cure.” He said he planned to continue living and writing as usual for as long as he could. “But I want you to know,” he emphasized, “that I do so in a grateful and contented state of mind.”