“I learned as time went by how unfair and hypocritical the world was, and I began to always raise lots of questions and participate in the activities I thought could in some small ways help,” Caploe says.

“I always felt, too, that the U.S. has owed many apologies to many, many, many people in terms of slavery, and Indian genocide and arrogant control of other countries in the supposed name of democracy,” he says. “The U.S. needs to come out and eat humble pie and not only make broad apologies for all these wrongs, and make specific compensation...but to understand the negative impact of what this country has done.”

With the G.I. Bill and a renewed commitment to social justice, Caploe finished up his service in the Navy and headed to Stanford Law School.

A strong opponent of racial discrimination, Caploe was involved in activist efforts during the Civil Rights movement, marching with his first wife in various protests from the late 1950s through the 1970s.

In 1964, Caploe answered the call of President John F. Kennedy ’40 for lawyers to head South to do civil rights work as part of the group Lawyers for Civil Rights Under Law.

Caploe went to Mississippi, where he worked for civil rights causes with other lawyers from northern states.

Today, Caploe works in private practice in Richmond, Calif. and has been active in encouraging lawyers to do pro-bono work, serving as a board member of a local Bay Area-wide legal services organization.

Family Man

Caploe says of his family life, “I feel I’ve been extremely lucky.”

Caploe married Marguerite Esta Higgins in June 1956. He describes his first wife as “a very decent, strong, and good person, and very loving”.

The couple joined the Peace Corps together and served for three years in Bolivia, from 1968 to 1971.

“She and I were very much attuned to this idea of keeping on the ‘up side’ all the time and working hard at the things you believed in,” says Caploe.

They raised four children. Marguerite died in 1974.

Caploe married Maribé Jacard in April 1976. When they married, she had a daughter who at that time was five years old and who is now expecting twins.

—Staff writer Stephanie M. Skier can be reached at skier@fas.harvard.edu.