Paul as a young kid

Paul A. VanderMyde was the son of Louis and Ann VanderMyde of St. Ansgar, Iowa. His father was, for about 30 years, the manager of the Cedar Valley Electric Co-operative.

Paul was born at Estherville, Iowa, on February 9, 1937 and moved to St. Ansgar, Iowa at a young age. He attended St. Ansgar public schools, and graduated from St. Ansgar High School in 1955.   Following high school, Paul attended the University of Minnesota and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1959.   He later attended the University of Iowa and obtained a Master of Arts degree on February 5, 1966 at Iowa City.

1955 - H.S. Graduation

Outside of his educational activities, Paul served as a commander in the United States Naval Reserve from 1959 to 1961. According to the Waterloo Daily Courier for August 25, 1958, Paul had just returned from an NROTC Pacific Cruise, and was visiting his parents in St. Ansgar.

From 1962-1968 he was a staff assistant with the National Security Agency, in Washington D.C.

He was a congressional fellow with Representative George H. W. Bush (R-Texas) and Senator Bob Packwood (R-Oregon) during 1968-1969.   He then served as legislative assistant to Senator Bob Packwood from 1969 to 1971.

Between 1973 and 1977 he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Agriculture (Conservation, Research and Education).   Mr. Vander Myde was also a staff member at the White House during the time period of 1973-1977.

TO WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Paul VanderMyde, St. Ansgar, has accepted a position with the National Security Agency, a major research and development organization within the Department of Defence of the U.S. Government. Following graduation from the University of Minnesota he spent two years in Washington as a Naval Intelligence officer with the Potomac River Naval Command. Last year he worked on a master's degree at the University of Iowa.   He will complete his thesis after research at the Library of Congress. Mason City Globe Gazette, September 27, 1962

As an example of his work, in 1976 Mr. Vander Myde, while serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Agriculture, was the contact person at the Department of Agriculture for the various program managers involved with the Combined Forest Pest Research and Development Program. (2)

After 1977 Vander Myde served as Republican staff director, for the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives.

On March 3, 1981 President Ronald Reagan announced his intention to nominate Paul A. Vander Myde to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce -- for Congressional Affairs. (1)   In connection with that, in the Washington Post, on March 4, 1981, Bill Peterson said, "The Commerce Department came up with two appointments. Paul A. Vander Myde, minority staff director on the House Science & Technology Committee since 1977, was named assistant secretary for congressional affairs. Vander Myde, 44, was a White House staffer during the Nixon years, and served as a congressional fellow with then-representative George [H.W.] Bush...."

Years later, Paul worked for VSE Corporation, which did work on various defense projects.

Paul Vander Myde died on June 13, 2000.   Supposedly he committed suicide following his being stopped by a policeman for making an illegal left turn. A report found on the internet says the following:

"Vander Myde, 63, told his wife he was heading to work at VSE Corp. but never arrived.   About 9 a.m., a Fairfax County police officer pulled Vander Myde over for making an illegal left turn.   Before the officer could approach his car, Vander Myde shot himself in the head, police said. …… Cochran said that Vander Myde's back had been hurting and that he hadn't seen his friend in a few weeks. "It was quite a shock that, we guess, he had become so depressed over his   condition."   Craig Weber, another senior vice president, said that he had worked closely with Vander Myde and that everything "seemed fine." (3)

It should be noted that Paul's wife was named Jeanne.   Following his death Jeanne married Senator John W. Warner of Virginia.   Sen. Warner had been previously married to Elizabeth Taylor, but they were divorced in 1982.   Taylor had been his second marriage.   The marriage to Jeanne Vander Myde took place on December 15, 2003 at the Washington National Cathedral. (4)

 

Washington Post Thur., June 15, 2000, Page B3 Apparent Suicide Confounds Alexandria By Maria Glod Washington Post Staff Writer Paul Vander Myde had a long and distinguished career in public service, holding high-level positions in four presidential administrations. He held a top post in a successful Alexandria engineering company, was aleader of his local Chamber of Commerce, was about to become president of the Alexandria Rotary and played golf with his brother nearly every Sunday. On Tuesday morning, Vander Myde, 63, told his wife he was heading to work at VSE Corp. but never arrived, according to his brother, Philip. About 9 a.m., a Fairfax County police officer pulled Vander Myde over for making an illegal left turn. Before the officer could approach his car, Vander Myde shot himself in the head, police said. Police are investigating the shooting as a suicide. But why a man who, at least on the surface, had it all would kill himself remains a mystery--a man who was a deputy agriculture secretary under Presidents Richard M. Nixon, and Gerald R. Ford and an assistant commerce secretary under President Ronald Reagan. Philip Vander Myde said family members are holding out the possibility that the gun fired accidentally. After all, he said, other than some chronic back pain, his brother had no problems. "We just don't know exactly what happened," Philip Vander Myde said. "We don't know where he was going. We just know he was heading down Highway 1." Paul Vander Myde's death has shocked Alexandria, where leaders say Vander Myde has been a fixture in volunteer organizations--including the Alexandria Volunteer Bureau--four years. "This is so unlike Paul," said Randy Kell, who became chairman of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce in 1999 after Vander Myde left the year-long volunteer post. "It's so sad. He wasn't driven or nervous. He was a good, solid Midwestern guy. He didn't believe in being nasty or negative." Philip Vander Myde said he and his brother grew up in a small Iowa town, Paul, in fact, still holds St. Ansgar's basketball scoring record."

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FOOTNOTES:

(1) http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=43476

(2) http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:-6QeJ_dN1sAJ:www.fsl.orst.edu/wfiwc/proc/1976proc.pdf+paul+vander+myde+died&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=20&gl=us

(3) http://www.alamo-girl.com/0361.htm
(Paul Vander Myde is on this list of supposed suicides related to the political ambitions of Pres. Bill Clinton.)

(4)http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/21/style/weddings-celebrations-vows-jeanne-vander-myde-and-john-warner.html (Story of Jeanne Vander Myde and Sen. John Warner)