In Memoriam: Joseph Shattan
Carsten Walter /
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Joseph Shattan, a Heritage Foundation writer and devoted member of the Heritage family.
Joe was a member of the Heritage family for nearly 20 years—first as a Bradley Fellow from 1997 to 1999, during which time he wrote his book “Architects of Victory: Six Heroes of the Cold War” and served as speechwriter for then-President Ed Feulner.
He rejoined Heritage in 2009 as a senior development writer, playing a key role in building relationships with and soliciting support from Heritage members across the country. Joe also worked with Feulner on “Intellectual Pilgrims” and “The American Spirit” and most recently with Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint on his new book, “Falling in Love with America Again.”
Joe’s résumé is long and distinguished and touched many of us before he joined Heritage.
A graduate of Brooklyn College and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, he served as a fellow at the Hoover Institution and the American Enterprise Institute as well as an editor at The American Spectator.
Over the years, he served with Jeane Kirkpatrick, Elliott Abrams, Bill Bennett, George Shultz, Dan Quayle, Henry Catto, Phil Gramm, and Dick Cheney. To say that Joe’s words reached tens of millions of people around the world is just the tip of the iceberg of the impact he had on the world.
DeMint offered this tribute:
Joe was one of the first people I worked closely with when I came to Heritage. He was a man with a big heart. That’s why he wrote so beautifully. But Joe was not merely an excellent writer; he was a kind soul, a loving husband, father, friend, and champion: He was all these things with a warm smile and a generous spirit.
As his work echoes through decades of American conservatism and into each of our lives, so too will his wit and warmth continue to ripple through the hearts of all who knew him. I ask everyone to pray for his family and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for his life.