Don Hodel: A good and faithful servant

OPINION:

When one waxes nostalgic about the Ronald Reagan years, several names from his Cabinet immediately come to mind: Attorney General Edwin Meese III, Secretary of the Treasury (and later, of State) James Baker, Secretary of Defense Caspar “Cap” Weinberger, and Secretary of State George Shultz.

All were great men who left a legacy of freedom and standing for human dignity.

One name from that team that often flies below the radar is Donald P. Hodel, who served as secretary of energy and secretary of the interior during the first and second Reagan administrations.

An early supporter of Reagan after his 1964 speech “A Time for Choosing,” on behalf of Sen. Barry Goldwater, Don played a pivotal role in the president’s political rise, encouraging him to run for public office and citing Reagan’s “abiding belief and confidence in God, a fundamental commitment to human freedom everywhere, and a love of country.”

Now, as one of the last surviving members of the Reagan team, along with Mr. Meese, Don has released a memoir, “Called to Serve,” which covers everything from his saving faith in Jesus Christ to his years in the White House and his dedicated service to numerous Christian nonprofit organizations.

“Called to Serve” is a fitting title, as that describes Don perfectly. He truly is a good and faithful servant whose life has touched so many in profound ways.

Although I have been blessed to get to know Don over the years, I have a good friend whose office was directly across from his during Don’s first tour of service in the late 1990s, when he was interim executive vice president and a board member at Focus on the Family.

Don made a significant impact on my friend’s life.

My friend saw how Don and his wife, Barbara, were a couple with a deep, abiding faith in Jesus Christ, a faith forged by fire after their eldest son’s suicide. He recalls how that faith was on display every day through Don’s humble spirit, his respectful treatment of every person, regardless of position, and, perhaps most of all, his devotion to his beloved Barbara.

One of the main campus buildings at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia, is named in Barbara Hodel’s honor, and how fitting for a couple so strongly committed to faith and higher education.

Like Reagan, Don made “stars of others.” My friend fondly remembers Don dropping by his office to chat, encourage him and offer opportunities to shine. Don lived and still lives by Reagan’s words: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”

For Don, it has never been about getting credit, nor about self-promotion. It was all about serving others and doing everything with excellence. In this soulful memoir, he deals with some of the most difficult chapters of his personal and professional life with candor, fidelity and honesty. It’s not just another cookie-cutter political memoir.

Even those who may have opposed Don’s political beliefs and policies have a deep and abiding respect for him because of who he is: a man of great faith and wisdom. Many of his decisions, such as the restoration of the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, were derided at the time by some of his political opponents. They are now seen as wise, even by those who fought them.

It is my hope, and that of all those who have had the honor to work beside and get to know Don, that our lives make the same impact he has made: mentoring others, making wise decisions, standing strong for the faith, and modeling personal and professional humility.

It is those attributes that make Don Hodel a “good and faithful servant” and have earned him the respect and admiration of anyone who has had the privilege to know him. Let us all strive to be like Don during our time here on earth: people who don’t mind who gets the credit and, as a result, can do great things as they make “stars of others” and give all glory to God.

• Timothy S. Goeglein is vice president of external and government relations for Focus on the Family. He served as a special assistant to President George W. Bush and as a deputy director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. His latest book is “Stumbling Toward Utopia” (Fidelis Publishing, 2024).