Title:Lives Well Lived—Fall 2022

Lives Well Lived honors a few alumni who have recently passed away. We share with you these portraits of alumni who have made an indelible impact living day to day as people for others.
You can find a more complete In Memoriam list at alumni.georgetown.edu/in-memoriam.

Jerry Longarzo Jr.

Entertainment lawyer and Grammy winner Jerry A. Longarzo Jr. (B’84, L’87, Parent’22) died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles, California.

A double Hoya, he received his business degree from the university and J.D. degree from Georgetown Law Center. He was proud to serve on the Board of Advisors and Parents Advisory Council for the McDonough School of Business.

Jerry started his career at the law firm Lord Day & Lord. He moved to Los Angeles for a position at The Golf Channel and then served The Walt Disney Company, managing many successful television shows. Jerry held senior positions at Fox Television Studios and CBS/Paramount before starting his own law practice, Longarzo Vance Klevan Freid LLP. His work there earned him a Grammy for Best Music Film as executive producer on HBO’s The Defiant Ones.

Jerry is survived by Diana Longarzo, his wife of 23 years, and three sons Jack (B’22), Luke, and Dante Longarzo.

“Jerry loved being a part of the Georgetown community,” recalls Diana. “He would have loved to see Jack graduate this past May. A part of him will always remain at Georgetown.”

Donations may be made to Cedars-Sinai Cancer Center, with a designation to pancreatic cancer.

Marsha Anne Fausti

Alumna and former Georgetown faculty member Marsha Fausti (C’92, G’94) passed away on Feb. 16, 2022. She graduated at 17 from Mt. Hope High School in West Virginia as the class salutatorian and later moved to Washington, D.C., where she was a secretary with several federal agencies.

She, her children, and second husband John Fausti lived in Maryland. As her children left the nest, she completed her education, obtaining her Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degrees from Georgetown.

She taught four years for the Georgetown Community Scholars Program before accepting a teaching position at the University of Pennsylvania in 2000, specializing in African American literature. She received her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 2001. Marsha later left the University of Pennsylvania and returned to Maryland to teach at Montgomery College in Rockville.

She leaves her children, Odyssey Egans Gray III and Monica Charisse Parchment, and two grandchildren: Jade Allyse Parchment and Riley Gabrielle Parchment.

Odyssey and Monica said, “Our mom loved learning and took a personal interest in her students at Georgetown. She enabled their ability to reach their fullest potential and recognized how valuable it was for them to succeed with a degree from Georgetown. She loved her time there.”

Peter Earnest

Peter Earnest (C’55), 36-year veteran of the CIA’s clandestine service and founding executive director of the International Spy Museum, passed away of congestive heart failure at 88 in Arlington, Virginia.

He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on New Year’s Day, 1934, to a U.S. Foreign Service Officer and an English mother. He grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, and attended Georgetown Preparatory School. Peter studied government and history at Georgetown University, graduated in 1955, and then served his country as a marine with a tour of duty in Japan.

Peter was recruited by the CIA in 1957 and served overseas primarily in Europe and the Middle East. In interviews he fondly recounted what he refers to as his “Bond moment,” when he was invited to a black tie reception at the home of an asset suspected of being a double agent. While the host was engaged with his other guests, Peter slipped into the man’s office. Carefully placing a handkerchief on his tuxedo to catch the sawdust, he installed a recording device before returning to the party. The recording confirmed that the man was indeed a double agent.

After retiring from the agency, he co-authored two books including Business Confidential: Lessons for Corporate Success from Inside the CIA (2010), a management guide, and Harry Potter and the Art of Spying (2014), which analyzed espionage in J.K. Rowling’s novels.

In 2001, he was recruited to head the then-new International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. During his tenure, the museum hosted more than 9 million visitors. His affable and gregarious nature belied his clandestine experience. People thought of him as an unlikely spy. He often joked, “The best spies don’t seem like spies.”

Peter was sought after for media appearances and enjoyed pulling the curtain back judiciously on clandestine life. He claimed people most wanted to know how many people he killed. Pressed on that point by Stephen Colbert in a 2008 interview, he said “none.” Colbert said “Would you tell me if you had?” Peter replied, “I would probably hedge on that.” “I’ll put you down for seven,” Colbert said.

Tamara Christian, current president and COO of the International Spy Museum, said “Peter made a giant impact on the Spy Museum and on the Intelligence Community. He believed in transparency and openness. He wanted to help the public understand intelligence and be good consumers of information and the news.”

His wife Karen Rice recalled, “Peter greatly valued the Jesuit education he got at Georgetown. He often said it taught him not only to learn, but to think. And not only to think, but also to apply that knowledge and thinking.”

In addition to his wife Karen, survivors include four daughters from his first marriage to Janet Chesney: Nancy Cintorino, Sheila Gorman, Patricia Earnest, and Carol Earnest; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.