Joseph Skeffington Wholey

Joseph S. Wholey, Jr., age 88, husband and father, scholar and civil servant, died Thursday, August 24, peacefully, at his home in Arlington, Virginia. Born in Stillwater, Rhode Island to Helen McGrath and Joseph S. Wholey, Sr., Joe grew up a Rhode Islander before attending college in Washington, D.C. (earning a BA in mathematics, Phi Beta Kappa, from Catholic University) and graduate school in Cambridge, Massachusetts (earning an MA in mathematics and a PhD in philosophy from Harvard University). Joe met his future wife, Margaret (Midge) Smith of Greenwich, Connecticut at Catholic University. After Joe finished graduate school, the couple laid down roots in Arlington, Virginia, where they raised their five children: Megan, Jane, Kate, Skef, and Sarah. Joe and Midge greatly enjoyed being a part of the community of Our Lady Queen of Peace church in Arlington. Joe's early post-academic professional life included work at the Institute for Defense Analyses, at the Pentagon, and at the Urban Institute, where his keen, analytic mind turned towards improving both the efficiency and the effectiveness of government. As the focus of Joe’s “day” job turned towards public administration — the analysis, evaluation, and optimization of government programs — he landed a “night” (and weekend!) job in elected local government. Serving on the Arlington County Board for eight years in the 1970’s (and as chairman for three), he was able to practice (in local government) what he preached (as an analyst and academic). As an endorsee of Arlingtonians for a Better County and chairman of Arlington’s Long Range County Improvement Program, Joe worked to make Arlington not just a good home for young families, but a vital, vibrant part of the Washington metropolitan area. In 1979, he chaired the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, where he was (per a Washington Post editorial), “the man who held [it] together” during a time of financial uncertainty. Just under half way through his life, Joe put elected office behind him and very deliberately turned his focus to his family and his religion. Professionally, he became a consultant, and then a professor, on the faculty of the University of Southern California, were he enjoyed mentoring his doctoral students. He served brief stints in the federal government, as deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, as senior advisor to the Office and Management and Budget, and as senior advisor to the General Accounting Office. And still, he remained engaged in efforts to improve his local community, including, among many things, promoting hospice care as president of Hospice of Northern Virginia (now Capital Caring), serving as director of the Arlington Community Foundation, and co-founding both the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing and the Alliance for Housing Solutions. Joe was a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Society of Public Administration (ASPA) and the National Academy of Public Administration. Several years ago ASPA established two awards in his name: the annual Joseph Wholey Distinguished Scholarship Award and the triennial Joseph Wholey Distinguished Scholarship Award for Lifetime Achievement. Joe was predeceased by his daughter Kate in 2003 and his wife Midge in March of this year. He is survived by his children Megan, Jane, Skef, and Sarah, brother Dennis, sister Ann and his wonderful grandchildren.