Connie Lawn’s Obituary –April 2, 2018
Long term independent reporter Connie Lawn died April 2, 2018 at her Lake Barcroft home in Falls Church, VA. She was 73.
Her death from a rare form of Parkinson disease was confirmed by her husband, Dr. Charles Sneiderman. Connie said she
had a full and exciting life, but she was proudest of her family, including her husband, her sons David and Daniel
Rappaport, and their families.
Connie was longest-serving member of the White House Press corps at 50 years. She came to Washington in l967, after
graduating from Simmons College in Boston and studying at Harvard and L’Institut Science Politique in Paris. After brief
stints as a staffer on Capitol Hill and as a reporter for all-news radio WAVA in Washington, Connie signed up as a
volunteer supporter for Senator Eugene McCarthy in New Hampshire. She soon saw journalism as more important than
politics and morphed into a freelance reporter. She moved to the Bobby Kennedy campaign and was one of the few “girls on
the bus” or the Kennedy press plane, until the bitter end. She had one of the last interviews with him, and stood near
him when he was assassinated in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Connie broadcast nonstop for several days and
nights until he died. 1968 was one of the most intense and tragic years in modern American history. In addition to the
Kennedy shooting, Connie covered the riots following the earlier death of Martin Luther King. Jr. She also went to
Chicago where she was beaten up during the Democratic Convention. In August, she went to Prague, to cover the Russian
invasion.
On the campaign trail, Connie picked up a number of clients in this country and around the world. Some stayed with her
for over 20 years. Her international radio clients included networks in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Israel,
South Africa, and other countries. She created a news bureau, calling it Audio Video News. In 1982 she was briefly
kidnapped in Lebanon, while covering the expulsion of the PLO. Other major stories followed over the years, including
Vietnam protests, the shooting of Ronald Reagan, the Watergate scandal, the Nixon resignation, and all the drama and
tragedy of recent years. The stories just keep coming. Many of them are recounted in her book, “You Wake Me Each Morning
– The Final Chapter.” A documentary on Connie’s life and career is in production.
Connie had an especially close relationship with New Zealand which gave her major honors. A champion race horse was
named after her. Connie (not the horse!) was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Zealand National Press
Club in 2006. It has now been donated to the US National Press Club in Washington, DC. In 2012 she was awarded an
Honorary New Zealand Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth. The honor was bestowed on her in Washington by Mike Moore, then
Ambassador to the US and a former prime minister of NZ. The mayor of her hometown , Long Branch, NJ designated a Connie
Lawn Day and she was given a key to the city in 2016.
Connie’s life will be celebrated in the near future; details will be announced at lakebarcroft.org. Her family would
most appreciate contributions in her memory to Capital Caring Hospice or to Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital
Area.