TIMOTHY S. ROTHERMEL
(1945 – 2012)
Timothy Simes Rothermel of New York City passed away peacefully on 6 February 2012 surrounded by
his family. Tim devoted his life to helping others, and during his more than 30 years with the UN, UNDP,
and The Carter Center, many of them spent in Palestine, he was a friend and mentor to all who knew him.
Tim is survived by his wife, Joan, and his children, Sara and David. A funeral was held on Tuesday,
February 14th at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street. In lieu of flowers, given
Tim’s passion for Palestinian Art, it was requested that contributions be made to the Al Hoash Palestinian
Art Court (via wire or check: http://www.alhoashgallery.org/support.shtml); or to Davidson College,
Davidson, N.C. (https://lucy.davidson.edu/giving/secure/adgiving.aspx).
Eulogy by Francis Dubois, Tuesday, 14 February 2012, St. Thomas Church, New York
Dear Joan, Sara, David, Dear members of the Rothermel and of the Ebert family, Greetings to all those
who traveled from Palestine, Rabat, London, from Florida, Missouri, Kansas, Michigan, Wyoming, Texas
and many other places. Greetings to all members of the United Nations family, our family.
All of us here have been touched either personally or professionally by our colleague, friend and mentor,
Tim Rothermel.
Since Tim was so attached to his faith, it is befitting to celebrate his life on the feast of St. Valentine –
Patron Saint of Love.
In all the messages, emails, phone calls received since 6 February, two words repeatedly epitomize Tim's
life – generosity, generosity of spirit and deed - and courage.
But Tim, being the modest gentlemen he was, would always deflect any compliments.
We all recall that his door was always open, from his Washington days, when he served as an assistant to
Bradford Morse, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, to New York, UN headquarters, and later on in
Jerusalem. He was always ready to assist: even under hostile circumstances.
One colleague wrote, “He was my boss and virtually the only colleague who stepped forward to offer me
a position after my unforeseen exit from my duty station.”
He was always ready to help anyone at the United Nations; his vast knowledge, his numerous Rolodex
entries, his incredible memory was always there for others. He even managed to be generous to all
colleagues, whether pleasant or not, which is another testimony of his Christian faith.
Courage: the United Nations was the ideal place for him to display courage and this led to the unique
odyssey of the Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People.
Let us not forget that, in the late 1970s the words Palestine and Palestinians were not politically correct,
nor even uttered. Together with a group of pioneers, Tim contributed to reverse the trend.
With the political impetus given by Bradford Morse, our late UNDP Administrator, his then deputy, John
Olver, the implementer, Nikitas Nevrodis, and all managed from a Human Resources perspective by
Eugene Youkel, Willie Kwan, and Marge Fonyi, the Programme was established.
Thirty years later, in Palestine, schools, hospitals, sanitation projects have been established, progress has
indeed been made towards peace in that region.
Tim devoted an extraordinary part of his life to Palestine, within the United Nations; for the Carter
Center; and with the Friends of UNRWA. The last testimony of such dedication is the donation he
requested to be made to the Al Hoash Gallery in the West Bank, managed by our friend, Mazen Qupty.
This gallery will become the future Museum of Modern Art in Palestine.
We were all privileged to know Tim, his wisdom, not to mention some of his peculiarities. As we all
know, Tim never wore an overcoat, even in winter. I asked him one freezing cold New York morning if
he intended to imitate St. Martin de Tours. He smiled but did not answer.
How many times did his guests have to fight to pick up the check at the end of a meal? No wonder that
his southern tradition of hospitality blended so well in the Arab world....
May I conclude by quoting one of Tim's favorite prayers, the Seventh Beatitude of the Sermon on the
Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.”
Tim was a cherished child of God who will welcome him with great generosity in His Immense Kingdom.
He will protect his family, beloved wife and children whom he loved immensely.
Tribute by Frank Hartvelt, February 2012
I was privileged to work with Tim in the Division of Global and Inter-regional Projects (DGIP) from
1985 to 1995. Our former Administrator, William H. Draper III, used to call DGIP the venture capital arm
of UNDP. Indeed, we were a small group of highly motivated professionals actively pursuing often risky
and untested technologies and approaches of interest to many countries. For example, DGIP supported
agricultural research through the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR),
public health research including tropical disease control, HIV-AIDS, children’s vaccine development
through collaboration with WHO, and appropriate technologies and approaches for water supply and
sanitation through the World Bank and bilateral agencies.
If thousands of people are better off today, it is because of Tim’s vision and leadership in finding
solutions for the world’s poorest people.
Tim was always considerate and unassuming with us and our partners in other multilateral and bilateral
agencies, as well as foundations. His excellent judgment and people’s skills were widely admired. He
deftly got the best out of his team in making far-reaching decisions. Far-reaching because, by their very
nature, DGIP programmes would often need long-term support to bring about research results, whether in
the form of improved seeds, vaccines, water supply and sanitation including women’s participation, or
innovative training methodologies.
Over the years capacity building became our motto recognizing that human beings need education and
training, which, together with supportive institutions, would strengthen their capacity to help reach their
life’s potential.
Let me tell one amusing anecdote about an unusual way to get the attention of the UNDP Governing
Council. We were submitting a request for continuing support for our Water and Sanitation Programme,
demonstrating that hand pumps had the potential of providing safe drinking water to thousands of poor
communities. They had been designed and tested for village level operation and maintenance. The project
manager in Nairobi had sent us a hand pump manufactured in Kenya. On the day of the Governing
Council session Tim, our assistant, Kumar, and I carried the pump across First Avenue to the General
Assembly building. When we entered the meeting room the Council’s discussions came to a sudden halt
when we put the pump on the podium. Needless to say Tim’s request for additional funding was approved
with flying colours.
There are many long-lasting achievements which occurred due to Tim’s leadership in certain areas in
which I worked closely with him. To name a few: The International Vaccine Institute in Seoul, Korea; the
International Network for Capacity Building for Sustainable Water Resources Management (Cap-Net) in
Pretoria, South Africa; and the Water and Sanitation Programme administered by the World Bank, still
going strong in the poorest countries and regions of the world.
As is well known, for many years prior to his recent retirement Tim Rothermel directed the Programme of
Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP). He was strongly committed to the human development of
the Palestinian people and worked tirelessly and often under highly challenging circumstances to improve
their living conditions.
We will remember Tim for his humanity, his love for his fellowman, his generosity, and his commitment
to his family and to human development. We are very fortunate to have known Tim during his life’s
journey.