A former chaplain of Yale University who gained national attention as a Vietnam War protester and later as an advocate for nuclear disarmament has died at his home in Strafford at the age of 81. The Reverend William Sloane Coffin was known to millions around the world for his social justice work, and even those who never have heard of him probably knew something about him without really knowing it, because cartoonist andfellow Yale graduate Gary Trudeau based his recurring character Reverend Sloane in Doonesbury on William Sloane Coffin.
Author Grace Paley knew William Sloane. She recently spoke with Mitch Wertlieb about his life.