Jerome H. Kahan

Jerome (Jerry) H. Kahan passed away on May 12, 2021 at age 83, after a long battle with a painful illness. His smile, humor, intelligence, and kindness will be greatly missed by his friends and survivors: his wife of nearly 60 years, Barbara Kahan, his son, Jeffrey Kahan, his daughter, Sara Kahan and his sister, Ellen Kahan Brotman.

Jerry worked in the national security, arms control, and homeland security fields for more than forty years. He retired from the Department of State and the Foreign Service in 1988 after twenty years, holding positions on the Policy Planning Staff, as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the Political-Military and Intelligence Bureaus, and as Politico-Military Counselor at the American Embassy in Turkey. He also worked for another twenty years for non-governmental organizations as Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution (authored the book “Security in the Nuclear Age,” 1975), Policy Advisor with Systems Planning and Analysis, Group Leader with the Center for Naval Analyses, Distinguished Analyst for The Homeland Security Studies & Analyses Institute, and Senior Analyst at Anser Corp.

Mr. Kahan contributed to a number of books, published articles in a variety of journals, taught at the Air Force Academy, and served for ten years as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute of Strategic Studies. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University with a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, and with Bachelor’s Degrees from Queens as well as Columbia College.

In addition to his career in arms control and homeland security Jerry loved music (mainly jazz, big band, and classical) and was an avid musician for most of his life. He played drums for about 60 years and tympani for 40 years (studying with Fred Begun). While going to college, he played all sorts of gigs, from jazz clubs to weddings and bar mitzvahs. Jerry’s versatility as a percussionist allowed him to play Dixieland with local musicians in clubs and at the Washington Monument as well as timpani with several community orchestras including the Arlington Symphony and the JCC Symphony Orchestra of Greater Washington.

When hearing a recording, Jerry could usually name the symphony and composer or the song and the artist. Being a musician was not his day job but was always a cherished part of his life. When he played music, he was like a man transformed. He passed on his love of music to his family. A cherished day was when Jerry, his son, Jeff, and daughter, Sara, all performed in the same orchestra.