Colin Powell was scheduled to speak in Triad next month

Colin Powell, a former Joint Chiefs chairman and Secretary of State has died. 

He had been scheduled to make a Triad appearance next month.

Powell made the commencement address at Wake Forest University in 2004, a little more than a year after he made the case for war in Iraq to the United Nations Security Council. 

Powell told the graduates that the greatest thing they can receive from their family and community is the gift of character.

“When people are suffering, and you can help them, you help them. You act. You do what's right, that's the American way,” he said. “Whether it's fighting poverty, disease or hunger, or whether it's fighting terrorism or rogue regimes, we are determined to lead our nation —  this (Bush) administration is — in always doing the right thing.”

Powell took part in a Wake Forest-sponsored virtual conversation in the spring alongside fellow former State Secretary Madeleine Albright, but it wasn't supposed to be the last such meeting. A scheduled in-person forum between Powell and Albright had been postponed until next month because of the pandemic.

Powell died from COVID-19 complications. His family reports that he was vaccinated. He had however been treated for a type of blood cancer in recent years. Powell was 84.