Mr. Tyler ABELL in 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Abell
Dear Members of the MDFDE, Friends of Laperouse USA and Friends of the Merci Train,
I’m sad to inform you of the recent death of our friend Tyler ABELL, who passed away in Washington D.C. on September 19, 2026. Tyler was 94.
Born in Washington, D.C., August 9, 1932, Tyler’s father was George ABELL (1898-1986), a professional writer and the great grandson of Arunah Shepherdson ABELL, founder of the Baltimore Sun newspapers. His mother, Luvie BUTLER MOORE (1909-1992), was an oil heiress and the daughter of Dan TYLER MOORE (1877-1941), Theodore Roosevelt’s military aid and founder of the Field Artillery School at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.
In 1936, Luvie Butler MOORE married Drew Pearson (1897-1969), one of the most famous and feared Washington D.C. journalist of the mid-20th century who routinely exposed corruption, hypocrisy, and hidden agendas within the U.S. government, and exposed financial scandals that brought down high-profile politicians including the infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy. Drew went on to become the most widely read newspaper columnist with his immensely popular, national syndicated column, The Washington Merry-Go-Round, he co-created, which focused on intense investigative muckraking, reaching millions of readers across more than 630 newspapers worldwide.
As a great humanitarian and philanthropist, Drew PEARSON was the father of the American Friendship Train campaign (1947-1948) collecting food and much needed supplies for the starving people of France, Italy, Austria and Germany post WWII; and the tireless organizer of the French Merci Train campaign in the United States (1949), a huge responsability he performed like no one else ever could on top of his very demanding job.
Tyler ABELL graduated from St. Albans School, Amherst College, and George Washington University Law School. He was President Lyndon Johnson’s first presidential appointee as Assistant Postmaster General 1963-1967 and one of his last appointees when made Chief of Protocol in 1968.
In 1955, Tyler ABELL married Elizabeth (Bess) HUGUES CLEMENTS (1933-2020) of Kentucky, the daughter of Sara Blue CLEMENTS (1894-1976) and Earle C. CLEMENTS (1896-1985), a Kentucky New Deal Democrat and public servant who was first elected in the Commonwealth Kentucky Senate (1941-1944), then in the U.S. House of Representatives (in 1944 and 1946) before being elected the 47th Governor of Kentucky (1947-1950) and U.S. Senator (1950-1957).
Tyler ABELL was a member of the Bar in the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia but retired from active practice in 1992 to become a real estate developer. He was a member of The Metropolitan Club of Washington for over 50 years.
He developed Merry-Go-Round Farm in Montgomery County, Maryland, which changed the paradigm for developments in Potomac, an equestrian community dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of its surroundings while providing spaces for horseback riders to enjoy their sport.
Tyler ABELL published or contributed to the publication of several books: “The Columnist” about his stepfather Drew Pearson to whom he was so close; “Washington’s Iron Butterfly,” an oral history about his wife Bess Abell; “The Abell Book of Art and Verse” featuring poetry by his father George ABELL; “A Romp Through Peace & War” about his great uncle Alban Bernard BUTLER’s artwork, and helped edit the two volumes of “The Drew Pearson Diaries,” a massive amount of work for Tyler when we know how productive Drew PEARSON was throughout his lifetime.
TYLER is survived by his two children, Dan Tyler ABELL of Boulder, CO, and Lyndon ABELL of Washington, D.C. and their respective families to whom we offer our most sincere condolences.
Tyler and Bess ABELL were truly a power couple in Washington D.C., two lifetime partners who did so much to serve their country the best way they could while raising a family. Now please let me tell you a little bit more more about the incredible Bess ABELL.
Bess, who passed away in October 2020 at age 87, was indeed an extraordinary lady — a “can do” woman as President JOHNSON used to say about her — who, as a seasoned Washington insider, first served as White House Social Secretary to Lady Bird JOHNSON during the JOHNSON administration (1961-1969) in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination; founded a successful public relations firm and later served as chief of staff and executive assistant to Joan Mondale, the wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale during the Jimmy Carter administration (1977–1981).
May you Tyler and Bess rest in peace knowing that our work and French-American-Italian project #MDFDE/FriendshipMerciTrain80 I started, as you knew, ten years ago, in October 2016, honoring our mutual hero, Drew PEARSON, continues as planned…
With love and respect to you,
Elisabeth Jenssen
Here comes the Sun — The Washington Sun —
On a happier note, dear friends, something really interesting happened last month in the PEARSONS and ABELLS’ hometown of Washington D.C.
In the fight to preserve the “Freedom of the Press,” to preserve “Democracy” in America and around the World, a noble cause along with Peace and Human Rights, Drew PEARSON, himself a Quaker, tirelessly fought for all his life; and who, I’m sure, would have loved to witness, perhaps even be part of (and for good reason, will get to it in a second): the birth of a new era in the World of Journalism, of Investigative reporting, of Facts checking.
It all happened almost a month ago — on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 — when journalists working for The Washington Post, originally an organ for the Democratic Party, founded in 1877 by Stilson Hutchins, left it to finally create their own newspaper: The Washington Sun. Tim GRIEVE is their editor-in-chief. I happily subscribed to it on September 10 and I really enjoy the quality and diversity of the articles, especially the ones written by their columnist, Dana MILBANK.
Short Timeline:
By June 1933, the Washington Post was owned by Eugene MEYER, a wealthy Republican banker and financier, former Federal Reserve Chairman, and the first president of the World Bank, who bought the dying newspaper at a bankrupcy auction that same year.
After leaving The Washington Herald due to political disagreements over World War II isolationism, Drew PEARSON’s The Washington Merry-Go-Round column moved to The Washington Post in 1941.
In 1946, Meyer handed the publisher role to his son-in-law (Katharine’s husband, Philip GRAHAM) rather than his own daughter Katharine, stating a belief that a husband shouldn’t work for his wife.
In 1954, under the leadership of Philip GRAHAM, The Post purchased its conservative rival, The Washington Times-Herald. With this acquisition, The Post absorbed the rights to Pearson’s highly read column, which dramatically helped boost the paper’s circulation and political influence during the era.
After Philip GRAHAM’s death by suicide in 1963, Katharine GRAHAM stepped in to lead the company, eventually becoming publisher and transforming the paper into the media powerhouse we all remember, one of the most influential newspapers in the United States, known for major investigative reporting including the Pentagon Papers and Watergate coverage.
What most people, especially young women today, don’t know about Katharine GRAHAM is that taking over The Post was a very difficult decision for her to make. So much so that, following her husband’s tragic death, Katharine was a grieving, 46-year-old widow who felt “abysmally ignorant” about business and expected to merely hold onto the paper for her sons.
In her Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Personal History, Katharine recalled a pivotal moment of encouragement from Luvie PEARSON, Tyler ABELL’s mother, one of her closest personal friends, who finally convinced her to take the job.
As detailed in her Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Personal History, she was walking with her friend Luvie PEARSON when she voiced this plan. The full exchange unfolded like this:
Luvie Pearson: “Don’t be silly, dear. You can do it.”Katharine Graham: “Me? That’s impossible. I couldn’t possibly do it.”Luvie Pearson: “Of course you can do it. You’ve got all those genes. You’ve just been pushed down so far you don’t recognize what you can do.”
Without Katharine GRAHAM, would we have known about the Pentagon Papers? About Watergate? With friends like that… Thank You Luvie PEARSON for showing women of your era the way!
Here comes the Sun — doo-doo-doo-doo, Here comes the Sun… And I say it’s all right…
In solidarity with all my fellow Americans, members of the Resistance,
Elisabeth Jenssen
#TeamJustice
P.S. Now all we have to do is turn America BLUE! Let’s Go!
#GRATITUDE
#RESISTANCE
#FREEDOMOFTHEPRESS
#MDFDEFriendshipMerciTrain80
© The Official French-American Project entirely conceived by Ms. Elisabeth JENSSEN to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the Friendship Train and the Merci Train (2017- 2027/2029). All rights reserved.
Chair, Elisabeth Jenssen
Contact: elisabeth.jenssen@francaisdeletranger.org
Related MDFDE posts:
MDFDE/USA: Mr. Tyler ABELL named co-chair of Executive Committee #MDFDEFriendshipMerciTrain70
Related links:
Newsweek article: “Personal History” Published Feb 02, 1997 at 07:00 PM EST updated Mar 13, 2010 at 08:40 PM EST https://www.newsweek.com/personal-history-2-174886