DECEMBER 23 • 2021 | 41

something good for some-
body else. Those stories of 
private generosity, friendship 
and charity, to my mind, are 
just as important, if not more 
important, than the public 
role she played. 
“Not everybody can be a 
TV or radio star, but every-
body can be a good person, 
and everybody can learn 
something from the way she 
lived her life and the prior-
ities she set. That’s the most 
important thing I tried to 
accomplish [with this book].”

DEVOTION TO 
JEWISH RITUAL
A life member of Hadassah, 
Cokie can be especially 
remembered by those in 
the Michigan Jewish com-
munity who attended her 
local speaking appearances, 
including one at Temple 
Beth El and another for the 
Jewish Community Center of 
Washtenaw County. 
In the private realm, the 
book recalls how she deter-
mined to take her young 
children to Jewish services 
during her husband’s New 
York Times assignments in 
Greece, hosted seders for 
interfaith families and even 
made a chuppah for the civil 
marriage ceremony of jour-
nalist and longtime friend 
Nina Totenberg as offici-
ated by Justice Ruth Bader 
Ginsburg. 
How Cokie brought ritual 
into her husband’s family is 
described as an important 
element of their 53-year mar-
riage, which devoted them 
to their two children and six 
grandchildren. He asked his 
children to read the memoir 
manuscript for pre-publica-
tion approval.
Steven Roberts, who also 

accepted Michigan speaking 
engagements with his wife 
and once separately for the 
National Council of Jewish 
Women, explained how 
Cokie grew up in a family 
that instilled a devotion to 
ritual. She was the daughter 
of Congress members Hale 
and Lindy Boggs. 
“Ritual was not central 
to my identity as a Jew,” 
Roberts offered as contrast 
and referred to his early 
attachments to Judaism com-
ing from tribal and historic 
points of view. “My father 
and grandfathers were never 
bar mitzvahed; I was because 
I asked to be, much to the 
surprise of my parents.
“One of the ways which 
my attitude toward Judaism 
changed through Cokie was 
a return to ritual as a part of 
identity because that’s what 
she brought to the marriage. 
My mother often said the 
first Passover seder she ever 
attended was organized by 
her Catholic daughter-in-
law.”

A VALUED FRIEND
Writing the biography helped 
Roberts gain insight into the 
meaningful moments her 
friends do not forget. He 
interviewed 50 of them, and 
the interview that stands out 
for him involves her prioritiz-
ing — in the midst of a hectic 
day — the comforting of a 
friend devastated by the loss 
of a brother. 
“I knew how deeply Cokie 
valued her female friendships 
and how much time she spent 
on them, but I was not there 
when she visited [maternity 
wards] in the Washington 
area,” he explained. “I was 
not there when she went to 
the funerals of her friends’ 

parents. I was not there at 
her office at NPR (National 
Public Radio), where there 
were literally lines of young 
women out the door waiting 
to talk to her. 
“While I made this deci-
sion to write the book based 
on what I knew two years 
ago, my belief in the value of 
the stories strengthened enor-
mously as I heard stories that 
I never heard before. It was a 
fascinating process because 
it was my determination that 
this was the story worth tell-
ing.”
One question stands out 
in the book as a measure of 
the sensibility and soundness 
that Cokie represented for 
so many, whether in front 
of a camera or privately to 
encourage women to further 
their ambitions. Under stress, 
people would ask themselves: 
“What would Cokie do?” 
That question continues 
for Roberts as he communi-
cates the partnership aspect 
of their marriage and moves 
along with important ele-
ments they had shared.

He continues maintaining 
close connections with chil-
dren and grandchildren, glad 
to be present at their special 
activities. He continues the 
syndicated column they long 
wrote together. He continues 
hosting seders — recently on 
Zoom but hopefully soon in 
person.
And what does he think 
Cokie would do if he had 
asked her about writing a 
biography?
“I think she would have 
been embarrassed about me 
writing the book in the first 
place,” he said. “I think she 
would have agreed that the 
private Cokie and the choices 
she made as the private per-
son were enormously signif-
icant. 
“I’m quite confident she 
would have shared with 
me the idea that the most 
important lesson here was 
the very day-to-day, ordinary 
choices that every single per-
son makes matter and that 
you have to make time to be 
a friend.” 

Cokie 
Roberts

BY JOHN MATHEW SMITH VIA WIKIPEDIA

