Margaret "Maggie" Kuhn was motivated to work in the field of rights for older persons when she was forced to retire at age 65 in 1970. Realizing the rights of the elderly were being denied in other ways, Ms. Kuhn became a founder of the Gray Panthers in Philadelphia in 1971. She remained active as an executive of the organization which leads in the fight for the rights of the elderly, until her death April 22, 1995. She was 91.

Born in Buffalo in 1905, Ms. Kuhn received her BA from Case-Western Reserve University in 1926. She worked with the YWCA, General Alliance of Unitarian Women, the United Presbyterian Church and Hospice, Inc.

She wrote two books, Get Out There and Do Something About Injustice (1972), and Maggie Kuhn On Aging (1977). She was writer and editor for the church magazine Social Progress and advisor for the TV series for older persons, Over Easy.

Ms. Kuhn has received many awards including the first annual award for justice and human development from the Witherspoon Society, 1974. She was chosen Humanist of the year in 1978.

--Mildred McCallister
The Humanist of the Year Book 1953-1991