Paki Wieland was a peace movement giant packed into a 5’3” frame. On March 12, she “walked on” after a yearslong battle with cancer. While we feel the loss of her twinkling eyes and warm low voice, which brought energy and light to the thousands of meetings, demonstrations, international delegations and other events she was part of, we are sure she is now making good trouble on another plane with Barbara Briggs-Letson, Ken Mayers, Daniel Ellsberg, Jesse Jackson and the other greats we have lost in the last few years.
Below are just a few of the tributes from the many activists who knew and loved her. You can find more pictures of Paki over the years here.
Medea Benjamin
When I think of who is a true model of a peace activist, someone whose life we should strive to emulate, I think of Paki Wieland.Paki embodied the values we talk about so often in the peace movement but rarely see lived with such grace. She showed compassion to everyone—even to those she disagreed with or considered adversaries. She believed deeply that our humanity had to come first, and she lived that belief every single day.
So many of us flocked to Paki—for advice, for creative ideas, for strategic thinking, or simply for the privilege of being in her presence. She had a way of making people feel heard, valued, and inspired to keep going, even in the most difficult moments of activism.
Paki also helped transform the activist “Pink House” in Washington, DC into something much more than a place to stay. Under her spirit and care, it became a home for the movement—a place filled with joy, camaraderie, laughter, and the kind of community that sustains people doing hard work for peace and justice.
When we remember Paki, we will always picture her with a big smile, her legendary sense of humor, and that warm laugh that could lighten even the heaviest room.
And yes, there will always be a touch of sadness, because we have lost such a beautiful light. But the example she set—the compassion, the courage, the joy she brought to activism—will continue to guide all of us who were lucky enough to know her.
Paki showed us what it means not just to work for peace, but to live it.
Ann Wright
Paki was a great CODEPINKer, a model for us all. She traveled with CODEPINK delegations to Iran, Pakistan, Cuba, Yemen, Afghanistan, and the U.S. border to witness the effects of U.S. imperialism, then returned home to pressure Congress to stop these policies—particularly her own Massachusetts congressional delegation, to whom she was a “thorn in their side.”Paki was also the remarkable “housemother” of the CODEPINK house in Washington, DC for several years, welcoming CODEPINKers from around the world, hosting events for the community, and sharing her wisdom not only with Codepinkers but with people from a wide variety of organizations.
Paki remained a “good troublemaker” to her final days, with her last trial for disrupting the military industry concluding only a few days before she “walked on.”
Jodie Evans
A very bright light of peace left the world this morning. ¡Paki Wieland Presente!Paki was a tireless peacemaker; peace was in everything she did. It was her very being. She could move from fierce anger at what was power was doing to innocent people into a delight filled agitator in seconds. She could process her rage and it came out as a ‘disarming’ invitation to be peace. She was it. Nothing was too much for Paki and she was engaged in action until almost her last breath. She fed us, traveled with us, gathered us to learn and to teach, dressed up, dressed power down, gave nourishment to all who were lucky enough to be in her orbit. And she always brought me present to the moment, the depth of her voice was a calling to be here now. Just as she was.
My heart hurts today to know that I will not hear that voice again, but she planted so many seeds of peace in me that I know all my acts carry a piece of her and she will always be in my heart. Reminding me that peace is joy and it is all our work everyday all day, and it is the most fulfilling thing one can do with ones life. Celebrating your life today dearest Paki. Rest in Peace and all of our love.
CODEPINK Staff
Paki stood up for so many people around the world—whether in Guantánamo, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Latin America, or right here in North America. She showed us what it means to fight for justice and to plant seeds of peace and compassion that keep growing long after you’re gone.Every person she advocated for, every protest she joined (and inspired others to join), and every moment of understanding she helped create are part of her incredible legacy. A life spent working for peace is the greatest gift anyone can leave behind, and Paki lived that fully.
We are endlessly grateful to Paki. May the next stages of her journey be filled with the same love and compassion she shared with the world. Rest in peace.
Congressman Jim McGovern
Paki Wieland was an incredible leader. She was a peacemaker in our community, and a fierce advocate for human rights and human dignity at home and around the world.Paki and I bonded after we learned that each of us had been arrested—multiple times—for civil disobedience. I often turned to her for advice and guidance—strategizing and working together on how to eliminate nuclear weapons, stand up to defense contractors, and fight back against those who seek war and destruction. Occasionally, we disagreed. But in our disagreement, there was genuine admiration. I saw in Paki someone who loved and cared so deeply, and whose passion and energy could ignite and inspire others to action.
Paki was always willing to stand up for a neighbor in need—and the whole world was her neighborhood. She never stopped speaking out, never stopped organizing, and never stopped challenging the rest of us to live up to our values. I so admired her tenacity and her deep, deep desire to bring peace and love into this world.
I pray that her family finds comfort and inspiration in her memory. Paki touched so many lives, and her spirit and legacy will live on in all of us who will continue fighting on her behalf for a more just, compassionate, peaceful future for all.
The world will miss Paki. I already do.
